THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


"  Harry  started  back  toward  the  gap."-  pa-e  207. 


THE 


SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR 


ffalt  of  life  m  %  WM 


BY 


EDWARD    WILLETT 


NEW  YORK 
THOMAS    Y.   CROWELL   &    CO. 

No.  13  ASTOR  PLAGE 


COPYRIGHT,  1888,  BY 
THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  &  Co. 


ELECTROTYPED  BY 
C.  J.  PETERS  AND  SON,  BOSTON. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  STAR  AND  THE  SEARCHERS 5 

II.  HARRY  AND  THE  WILD-CAT 17 

III.  A  TERRIBLE  TORNADO 30 

IV.  BURIED  IN  A  WINDFALL 42 

V.  FISHING  SPORT  SPOILED 53 

VI.  TREED  BY  A  BEAR 65 

VII.  THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED 77 

VIII.  AN  UNINVITED  GUEST 88 

IX.  BRIGHT  EYES  AND  BIG  ANTLERS 100 

X.  HARRY'S  BIG  PRIZE in 

XI.  "FUN    WITH   THE   BEARS" 122 

XII.  A  MIDNIGHT  MARAUDER 137 

XIII.  A  FOREST  FIRE 147 

XIV.  SAVED  BY  A  CLOUDBURST 158 

XV.  A  JOURNEY  ON  SKATES 170 

XVI.  CHASED  BY  WOLVES 179 

XVII.  IN  THE  BIG  BASIN 189 

XVIII.  BEN'S  MOOSE  —  AN  "INDIAN  DEVIL".    .    .  200 

XIX.  FINDING  THE  STAR 211 

XX.  FAREWELL  TO  THE  WOODS 219' 

XXI.  HOME  AGAIN 227 


484112 

LIBRARY 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    STAR   AND    THE    SEARCHERS. 

"  YES,  Harry,  it  is  settled.  We  shall  go  and 
search  for  the  Star." 

"  That's  so,  Ben  ;  and  wouldn't  it  be  funny  if 
we  should  find  it !  " 

"  Funny  would  be  no  name  for  that,  my  boy. 
It  would  be  wonderful. —  and  it  shall  be  wonder- 
ful. We  will  make  the  search  for  the  Star 
something  to  talk  about." 

"  It  is  not  settled  that  you  are  to  go,"  broke 
in  a  matronly  young  woman,  in  a  corner  of  the 
room  —  a  bright  and  handsome  young  woman, 
who  did  not  look  old  enough  to  be  the  mother 
of  Ben  Halstead,  though  she  was,  and  Ben  had 
turned  his  sixteenth  year. 
5 


6       THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

"  Come,  now,  mother,"  mildly  pleaded  Ben. 

"  I  say  that  it  is  not  settled  that  you  are  to 
go.  I  have  not  given  my  consent." 

"  Conditionally,  you  have." 

"  But  not  positively ;  and  the  more  I  think 
of  it,  the  more  I  object  to  the  plan." 

Harry  Russell,  Ben's  cousin,  an  orphan,  and 
a  year  younger  than  Ben,  put  in  his  word. 

"  I  don't  see  what  you  have  to  say  about  it, 
aunt  Kate,  anyhow.  This  is  the  business  of 
Her  Royal  Sweetness.  It  is  her  errand  that 
we  are  going  on,  and  she  sends  us.  Isn't  that 
so,  Little  Sweet  ? " 

"That  is  just  so,  Harry,"  answered  a  curly- 
haired  and  blue-eyed  girl  of  six,  who  spoke 
quite  as  plainly  as  any  of  her  elders,  and 
with  a  positiveness  that  announced  her  as  a 
home  despot. 

"  That  is  just  so,  Harry.  You  and  Ben  are 
going  to  find  the  Star  and  bring  it  back  to 
me,  and  I  shall  be  ever  and  ever  so  much 
obliged  to  you." 


THE  STAR  AND    THE  SEARCHERS.  7 

"Dear  me!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Halstead.  "Do 
you  happen  to  know,  Miss  Hettie,  where  those 
two  boys  propose  to  go  to,  and  what  they 
expect  to  do?  How  would  you  like  to  hear 
that  your  brother  Ben  and  your  cousin  Harry 
had  been  eaten  up  by  bears  in  the  big 
woods  ? " 

"  I  think  they  are  big  enough  to  eat  the 
bears  now,"  calmly  replied  Little  Sweet. 

This  remark  was  received  with  roars  of 
laughter,  and  no  person  laughed  louder  than 
a  tall  and  brown-bearded  man,  who  had  just 
come  to  the  room,  and  stood  in  the  door-way 
with  his  arms  folded. 

He  was  Hiram  Halstead,  the  father  of  Ben 
and  Hettie,  whom  everybody  in  that  house 
loved  and  looked  up  to. 

"Those  are  brave  and  big  words  to  come 
from  young  lips,  Little  Sweet,"  said  he ;  "  but 
I  don't  see  why  they  should  not  be  true  words. 
I  killed  and  helped  to  eat  a  bear  before  I 
was  as  old  as  either  of  those  youngsters,  and 


8  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

I  can  tell  you  all  that  fresh  bear-meat  is  very 
good  eating.  If  the  boys  come  across  nothing 
worse  than  bears  in  the  woods,  I  shall  think 
they  are  in  fine  luck." 

"  Mercy  on  us  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Halstead. 
"  What  can  be  worse  than  bears  ? " 

"Why,  Kate,  a  bear  would  rather  run  from 
a  man  than  run  after  him ;  and  a  bear 
can  be  killed  with  a  rifle  if  he  tries  to  be- 
come too  familiar.  But  those  woods  are  filled 
with  ferocious  creatures  that  will  never  run 
from  a  man,  and  that  are  proof  against  rifle- 
shots." 

"  That  is  terrible.     What  are  they,  Hiram  ? " 
"Mosquitoes,  black  gnats,  and  bed-bugs." 
"  Now  you  are  making  fun  of  me.     How  do 
bed-bugs  get  into  the  big  woods  ? " 

"Born  there.  Those  pests  originate  in  the 
pine-woods,  and  they  move  into  the  towns,  like 
other  rural  residents,  to  keep  the  city  stock 
from  dying  out.  Seriously,  Kate,  I  supposed 
that  you  had  consented  to  the  expedition,  and 


THE  STAR  AND    THE  SEARCHERS.  9 

I  had  not  expected  any  objection  from  you  at 
this  late  hour,  when  the  boys  have  nearly  com- 
pleted their  preparations." 

"  But  they  are  to  go  so  far,  Hiram,  and  are 
to  be  away  such  a  long  time  ;  and  there  are 
so  many  dangers." 

"  It  is  the  best  and  biggest  thing  that 
could  happen  to  them,  in  my  opinion.  They 
will  lay  in  a  stock  of  health  that  ought  to  last 
a  life-time.  As  for  danger,  I  really  believe 
that  they  will  be  as  safe  as  if  they  were 
knocking  about  the  streets  and  wharves  of 
Bangor." 

"  You  ought  to  know  more  about  it  than 
I  do,  Mr.  Halstead ;  but  I  can't  help  feeling 
uneasy.  Do  you  suppose  there  is  any  chance 
for  the  boys  to  find  the  Star  ? " 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,  my  dear,  I  am  not  giving 
it  any  thought.  I  should  say  that  the  chance 
is  so  faint  as  to  be  scarcely  imaginary.  In 
fact,  that  there  is  no  chance  at  all." 

"How   can    you   say   that,    papa?"    imperi- 


IO      THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

ously  demanded  Hettie.  "You  know  that 
Ben  and  Harry  are  going  to  get  the  Star, 
and  they  must  bring  it  back  to  me." 

"  Of  course  they  must,  Little  Sweet,  and 
you  may  be  sure  that  they  will,  if  it  is  to 
be  had.  If  you  wanted  one  of  the  stars  up 
yonder  in  the  sky,  they  would  jump  for  it  as 
high  as  they  could.  I  only  want  to  warn 
you,  my  darling,  that  the  search  for  the  Star 
is  like  hunting  a  needle  in  a  hay-stack,  and 
that  I  don't  count  on  that  as  much  as  I  count 
on  some  other  things." 

In  this  statement  Mr.  Halstead  displayed 
his  usual  soundness  of  judgment,  and  he  was 
counted  one  of  the  most  level-headed  men 
in  Bangor,  where  he  controlled  a  large  lumber- 
business. 

His  home,  where  the  conversation  that  has 
been  narrated  occurred,  was  a  handsome  house, 
in  lovely  grounds,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city, 
and  it  was  from  that  house  that  the  Star  had 
disappeared. 


THE  STAR  AND    THE  SEARCHERS.          \\ 

What,  then,  was  the  Star? 

It  was  a  diamond  ornament,  of  rare  beauty 
and  value,  which  had  been  an  heirloom  in 
the  Halstead  family  for  nobody  knew  how 
many  generations,  having  been  brought  from 
England  not  long  after  the  landing  of  the 
Mayflower,  by  a  Puritan  Halstead,  who  de- 
spised all  such  gauds,  but  not  to  the  extent 
of  throwing  them  away. 

Subsequent  Halsteads  had  easily  got  over 
their  ancestor's  aversion  to  fripperies,  and  the 
Star  had  been  prized  among  them,  and  passed 
down  from  one  to  another,  mainly  in  the 
regular  line  of  heirship. 

Hiram  Halstead,  however,  had  made  a  slight 
change  in  the  order  of  descent. 

On  the  third  birthday  of  Miss  Hettie  Hal- 
stead,  otherwise  known  as  Little  Sweet,  the 
Star  had  been  formally  made  over  to  her  in  the 
Captain  Cuttle  style,  and  it  became  her  prop- 
erty—  not  that  she  was  to  use  it  as  a  play- 
thing, or  to  have  the  control  or  care  of  it ; 


12  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

but   it   was   her   property,   and   she   was   duly 
proud  of  its  ownership. 

It  was,  as  has  been  said,  an  ornament  of 
rare  beauty  and  value,  the  centre  being  a  stone 
of  unusual  size  and  lustre,  and  the  points  com- 
posed of  small  diamonds. 

The  Star  should  have  been,  with  due  con- 
sideration for  its  safety,  deposited  in  some  fire  * 
and  burglar  proof  receptacle,  out  of  the  sight 
and  reach  of  everybody  ;  but  it  was  the  "  show- 
piece "  of  the  Halsteads,  and  they  were  fond  of 
taking  it  out  of  its  case  to  admire  and  show  it, 
and  thus  it  was  finally  lost. 

There  had  been  in  the  Halstead  family  a 
servant,  known  as  "the  hired  man,"  who  had 
disappeared  when  the  Star  disappeared,  and 
who  was  believed  to  be  responsible  for  its 
loss. 

He  was  a  young  French  Canadian,  Baptiste 
Lafonce  by  name,  whom  Hiram  Halstead  had 
got  hold  of  in  the  lumber-business,  and  to 
whom  he  had  taken  a  great  fancy,  installing 


THE  STAR  AND    THE  SEARCHERS.          \^ 

him  as  the  companion  and  general  guardian 
of  Ben  Halstead  and  Harry  Russell. 

Though  not  remarkably  industrious,  Baptiste 
was  a  very  ingenious  fellow,  capable  of  mak- 
ing anything  that  the  boys  wanted  made,  and 
of  teaching  them  anything  (outside  of  the 
schools)  that  they  wanted  to  know. 

Consequently  he  was  admired  and  believed 
in,  and  became  a  great  pet  in  the  family. 

Baptiste,  however,  was  very  fond  of  strong 
drink,  and  the  prohibition  law,  as  it  worked 
or  failed  to  work  in  Bangor,  did  not  prevent 
him  from  getting  what  he  wanted. 

He  was  frequently  warned  and  frequently 
forgiven ;  but  at  last,  after  an  outrageous 
spree,  Mr.  Halstead  lost  patience  with  him, 
and  discharged  him  from  his  service. 

Baptiste  left  the  house  two  days  before  the 
time  appointed  for  him  to  go,  and  disappeared 
very  mysteriously,  without  a  word  to  any 
member  of  the  family. 

This  saddened   them,  and  they  were  sadder 


I4  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

yet  when  they  learned  that  the  Star  had  dis- 
appeared at  the  same  time. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  Baptiste, 
out  of  revenge  for  his  discharge,  or  prompted 
by  avarice  that  had  not  hitherto  been  sus- 
pected, had  stolen  the  Halstead  heirloom. 

The  police  were  put  on  his  track  immedi- 
ately ;  but  not  the  slightest  trace  of  him, 
then  or  thereafter,  had  been  found  outside  of 
Bangor. 

It  was  naturally  supposed  that  he  would 
return  to  his  friends  in  Canada,  and  men 
were  sent  there  to  look  for  him ;  but  they 
found  nothing  of  Baptiste  Lafonce. 

In  the  "course  of  time,  there  came  to  the 
Halstead  family  another  French  Canadian, 
Louis  Hameau  by  name,  somewhat  older 
than  Baptiste,  quite  as  ingenious  and  handy, 
and  as  sober  and  steady  a  man  as  one  would 
care  to  see. 

When  Louis  had  learned  the  facts  con- 
nected with  the  disappearance  of  his  prede- 


THE  STAR  AND    THE  SEARCHERS.          15 

cessor  and  the  Star,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  he  was  sure  that  Baptiste  Lafonce 
was  alive,  and  that  he  believed  the  man 
could  be  found. 

After  that  there  was  no  rest  for  Ben  and 
Harry,  until  they  secured  permission  to  take 
Louis  and  go  into  the  woods,  to  begin  what 
they  called  the  search  for  the  Star. 

In  consenting  to  this  expedition,  Mr.  Hal- 
stead  had  an  idea  of  his  own,  outside  of  the 
physical  benefits  and  the  pleasure  he  ex- 
pected the  boys  to  derive  from  it,  and  his 
thought  took  this  shape  :  — 

"To  seek  the  Star  through  the  north 
woods  of  Maine,  or  possibly  in  Canada, 
might  be  worse  than  looking  for  a  needle 
in  a  hay-stack ;  but  to  seek  a  man  is  quite 
another  matter.  If  the  man  is  alive,  there 
is  a  fair  chance  that  he  may  be  found,  and 
I  do  not  believe  Baptiste  to  be  a  thorough 
scoundrel,  though  he  has  proved  himself  to 
be  a  thief.  I  presume  that  he  took  the 


16  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

jewel  when  liquor  had  destroyed  his  reason 
for  a  time,  and  when  he  came  to  his  senses 
he  was  afraid  to  come  back  and  return  it. 
If  he  has  not  got  rid  of  it,  he  might  be  glad 
enough  to  give  it  up  if  he  should  be  found. 
Anyhow,  I  can  depend  on  Louis,  and  the 
boys  ought  to  have  a  good  time." 

Mr.  Halstead's  only  regret  was  that  his 
business  affairs  prevented  him  from  going 
with  them. 


CHAPTER   II. 

HARRY   AND    THE    WILD-CAT. 

UP  the  Penobscot,  a  long  distance  above 
Bangor,  tbe  party  of  searchers  for  the  Star, 
with  their  outfit  of  land  and  water  equip- 
ment, had  camped  at  a  point  of  land  made 
by  a  sharp  bend  of  the  river. 

The  main  article  of  the  outfit,  which  they 
meant  to  rely  on  for  the  greater  part  of 
their  travel,  was  the  canoe ;  and  it  was  so 
precious  to  them  that  they  had  hauled  it 
upon  the  land,  instead  of  merely  making  it 
fast  at  the  shore. 

It  was  called  a  canoe  because  either  end 
might  be  the  bow  or  the  stern  ;  but  in  other 
respects  it  partook  of  the  qualities  of  a  large 
skiff,  being  broad  and  shallow,  so  that  it 
could  carry  a  pretty  heavy  load  with  little 
displacement  of  water. 
17 


IS  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

She  —  of  course  we  must  give  the  craft  its 
proper  sex  —  was  lightly  but  strongly  built 
of  cedar,  so  that  she  could  be  handily  carried 
by  two  men  when  she  was  relieved  of  her 
loading. 

At  each  end  a  little  space  was  decked  over, 
the  portions  thus  inclosed  serving  as  lockers 
to  hold  provisions  and  the  like  —  of  which  a 
good  supply  was  carried,  though  the  searchers 
expected  to  depend  largely  upon  hunting  and 
fishing,  as  well  as  to  get  stores  at  depots  on 
the  Penobscot  and  its  tributaries. 

The  propelling  instruments  were  paddles  and 
setting-poles,  —  the  paddles  for  smooth  water, 
and  the  setting-poles  for  rapids  and  swift  cur- 
rents,—  and  one  of  the  poles  could  be  used 
as  a  mast,  as  the  canoe  carried  a  water-proof 
cloth  that  would  serve  as  a  sail  as  well  as 
a  shelter-tent. 

Louis  Hameau  might  well  have  passed  for 
a  logger  on  a  prospecting  tour,  as  he  was  clad 
in  a  rough  woollen  shirt  and  trousers,  with 


HARRY  AND    THE    WILD-CAT.  ICj 

boots  that  reached  to  his  knees,  and  a  heavy 
felt  hat  ;  but  the  boys  were  more  stylishly 
"  got  up,"  Ben  Halstead  wearing  what  might 
be  called  a  hunting-suit,  of  tweed,  while  Harry 
Russell's  toggery  was  of  corduroy ;  but  both 
suits  were  of  durable  goods,  impervious  to 
the  attacks  of  insects. 

They  were  also  well  provided  with  arms  and 
ammunition,  Louis  carrying  a  heavy  hunting- 
rifle,  and  the  boys  being  supplied  with  double- 
barrels,  one  barrel  to  serve  as  a  rifle,  and  the 
other  as  a  shotgun. 

The  double-barrels  were  not  fitted  for  such 
accurate  shooting  as  Louis'  single-barrel  ;  but 
they  were  useful  weapons,  and  the  boys  had 
not  yet  learned  to  pride  themselves  upon  accu- 
racy of  aim. 

They  also  carried  hunting-knives,  for  many 
uses,  and  revolvers  for  cases  of  emergency. 

It  was  early  autumn  when  they  left  Bangor, 
and  they  had  been  journeying  for  many  days 
up  the  beautiful  river,  occasionally  using  their 


20  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

sail,  frequently  stopping  to  hunt,  and  at  night 
camping  on  the  shore  until  the  early  morning. 

Thus  the  expedition  seemed  to  be  a  party 
of  pleasure,  rather  than  of  serious  business 
intentions,  and  it  was  certain  that  the  boys 
were  getting  plenty  of  fun  out  of  the  trip, 
as  well  as  the  best  of  health  and  spirits,  and 
that  their  guide  also  enjoyed  it  highly. 

After  hauling  their  canoe  up  on  the  shore 
just  below  where  the  river  made  an  abrupt 
sweep  to  the  eastward,  they  proceeded  to  pre- 
pare their  camp  in  the  usual  way. 

The  first  thing  necessary  was  to  build  a  fire 
and  hasten  the  cooking  of  supper,  as  the  three 
of  them  never  failed  to  be  famished  when  they 
landed  for  the  evening  meal. 

Being  so  mortally  hungry,  and  knowing  that 
it  depended  upon  their  own  exertions  to  sat- 
isfy their  appetites,  there  were  no  idle  hands 
among  them. 

As  their  duties  had  by  that  time  become 
settled,  and  each  knew  what  he  had  to  do, 


HARRY  AND    THE    WILD-CAT.  2I. 

their  supper  was  soon  prepared,  and  we  may 
be  sure  that  it  was  speedily  eaten. 

It  was  a  very  frugal  meal,  consisting  only 
of  salt-pork,  toasted  at  the  fire,  with  the  drip- 
pings caught  in  a  pan  of  hard  bread,  and  a 
tin  cup  of  coffee  for  each  of  them.  But  they 
were  so  gloriously  hungry  that  it  was  a  feast 
fit  for  a  king. 

It  was  a  democratic  business  all  around,  as 
each  had  to  take  his  turn  at  washing  the 
dishes.  But  there  was  something  to  be  thank- 
ful for  in  the  thought  that  there  were  so 
few  of  them  to  wash,  and  that  they  were  so 
easily  got  out  of  the  way. 

They  covered  the  fire  with  boughs,  to  make 
a  "  smudge  "  to  drive  away  the  winged  insects 
of  the  night,  and  seated  themselves  for  a 
general  talk,  while  Louis  Hameau  lighted  his 
pipe  to  enjoy  the  smoke  which  was  his  one 
dissipation  and  his  great  consolation. 

"  How  much  further  are  we  going  up  this 
river,  Louis  ?  "  inquired  Ben  Halstead. 


22  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

"Not  so  mighty  much  furder,"  answered 
the  guide.  "  If  we  was  lookin'  for  nothin' 
but  fun,  I'd  ha'  struck  into  the  Piscataquis,  as 
there's  plenty  good  fishin'  an'  huntin'  up  Sebec 
way ;  but  that  wouldn't  bring  us  anywhere 
nigh  Baptiste  Lafonce,  and  so  we've  gone 
beyond  the  Piscataquis." 

"  I  know  that  ;  but  this  river  will  branch 
soon,  and  what  are  we  going  to  do  then  ?  " 

"It's  more'n  likely  that  we'll  take  the 
East  Branch,  and  the  chances  are  that  we 
may  go  up  the  Sebois ;  but  I  can't  be  sartin 
of  anythin'  yet.  We  may  pick  up  some 
news  that  will  change  my  notion." 

"What   kind   of   news?" 

"News   of   Baptiste." 

"  How  are  we  likely  to  get  it  ?  " 

"  At  this  time  o'  the  year  there's  plenty  of 
good  men  in  the  woods  —  loggers  that's  lookin' 
for  likely  lots  o'  timber  for  the  winter's  cuttin'. 
We  may  run  across  some  of  'em,  and  they  may 
be  able  to  tell  us  somethin'  about  Baptiste." 


HARRY  AND    THE    WILD-CAT.  2$ 

"Do  you  really  believe  that  we  have  a 
chance  to  find  him  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes — while  he  is  alive  there  is  a 
chance." 

"  I  wish  the  mosquitoes  were  in  Guinea  !  " 
exclaimed  Harry  Russell.  "  The  smudge 
don't  seem  to  worry  them  a  bit,  and  it  is 
hard  to  get  used  to  them." 

"  You  may  come  across  something  worse 
than  they  are,  before  we  go  much  further," 
observed  Ben. 

"  I  would  gladly  swap  them  off  for  anything 
that  runs  on  four  legs.  Say,  Louis,  what  kind  of 
wild  beasts  are  there  in  these  woods,  anyhow?" 

"  You  mean  the  harmful  ones  ?  There's 
plenty  of  'em.  There's  bears,  you  know." 

"Yes,  I  know  all  about  bears,  and  I  want 
to  kill  a  bear ;  but  I  would  rather  hunt  a 
moose.  That  is  a  noble  animal." 

"  Noble  to  look  at,  but  a  terrible  critter  to 
tackle,"  answered  the  guide.  "There's  times 
o'  the  year  when  you  can't  be  too  keerful 


24  THE  SEARCH  FOR   THE  STAR. 

how  you  fool  with  a  bull-moose,  as  he's  a  sav- 
age fighter,  and  at  all  times  he's  apt  to  be 
cantankerous.  It's  best  to  keep  away  from 
him  if  you  hain't  got  a  sure  thing  on  killin' 
him,  and  you  may  fill  him  full  o'  lead  without 
knockin'  the  fight  outen  him." 

"  I  am  glad  you  told  me  of  that.  What 
other  savage  beasts  are  there,  Louis  ?  " 

"  Wolves  is  savage  enough  to  satisfy  any- 
body that's  got  an  appetite  for  that  sort  o' 
thing.  They  run  in  packs,  and  are  more  apt 
to  hunt  you  than  you  are  to  hunt  them.  But 
winter's  the  worst  time  for  wolves.  Then 
there's  wild-cats  —  panthers,  some  folks  call 
'em  —  and  mighty  p'ison  critters  is  wild-cats. 
They  prowl  about  at  night,  mostly  in  the  tree- 
tops,  and  the  fust  thing  you  know-  of  'em  is 
when  they  jump  onto  you,  though  they  do 
sometimes  give  a  yell  that  sounds  like  the  cry 
of  a  baby." 

"We  must  try  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of 
the  wild-cats." 


HARRY  AND    THE    WILD-CAT.  2$ 

"There's  one  thing  that's  wuss'n  wild-cats  — 
ever  so  much  wuss'n  wild-cats  —  the  terriblest 
critter  that  roams  the  woods." 

"  Mercy  on  us  !     What  is  that  ?  " 

"  The    Injun    devil." 

"And  what  is  an   Injun   devil?" 

"  Somethin'  like  a  wild-cat,  as  near  as  I 
can  make  it  out,  havin'  never  met  one  of  'em  ; 
but  they  tell  me  that  it's  sorter  blue  in  color, 
which  a  wild-cat  never  is.  Anyhow,  it's  as 
bad  as  a  dozen  wild-cats  squeezed  into  one ; 
all  steel  wire  and  grit  and  savagement,  and 
with  its  teeth  and  claws  chock-full  o'  murder. 
It  can't  be  killed,  and  if  it  was  killed  it 
wouldn't  know  it,  but  would  rip  around  just 
the  same." 

"You  are  drawing  it  a  little  too  strong, 
Louis,"  remarked  Ben.  "  Is  there  really  any 
such  creature,  or  have  you  been  inventing  it 
to  scare  us  ?  " 

"  'Tis  no  lie  I'm  tellin'  you.  I  never  saw 
one  of  the  critters,  as  I  said  ;  but  I've  known 


26  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

men  who  have  met  'em,  and  I  once  saw  a  man 
who  had  been  nearly  chawed  into  giblets  by 
an  Injun  devil." 

"  Is  that  the  only  name  it  has  ?  " 

"All  the  name  I  ever  heerd  for  it.  It's  so 
called,  they  say,  because  it's  the  only  thing 
the  Injuns  are  afraid  of,  and  the  thought  of 
it  nearly  skeers  the  life  out  of  'em.  The 
critters  are  mighty  sca'ce  nowadays,  and 
that's  the  only  good  p'int  about  'em." 

"Let  us  hope  that  they  will  continue  in 
scarceness,  as  Scripture  says.  I  am  sleepy, 
Louis,  and  am  going  to  turn  in." 

The  others  were  willing  to  follow  his  motion, 
and  axes  were  quickly  set  at  work,  and  in  a  few 
moments  they  had  prepared  an  odorous  and 
really  comfortable  couch  of  fir  and  spruce 
boughs,  covering  themselves  with  the  tent- 
cloth  to  keep  off  the  insect  pests  which  the 
smudge  would  not  drive  away. 

Even  if  they  had  not  had  such  a  strong  appe- 
tite for  sleep,  the  resinous  breath  of  the  woods 


HARRY  AND    THE    WILD-CAT.  2/ 

and  the  boughs  beneath  them  would  have  made 
them  drowsy,  and  they  soon  sank  into  slumber. 

Harry  Russell  was  the  only  one  who  did  not 
sleep  soundly. 

He  was  always  easy  to  wake,  and  that  night 
he  was  restless,  having  been  excited  by  Louis' 
description  of  the  denizens  of  the  forest,  which 
had  entered  into  his  dreams. 

In  one  of  his  dreams  he  fancied  that  he  heard 
a  wailing  cry,  somewhat  like  that  of  a  child  in 
pain,  but  at  the  same  time  catlike  —  just  such 
a  cry  as  he  supposed  might  be  uttered  by  a 
prowling  panther  or  wild-cat. 

It  awoke  him,  and  as  soon  as  he  awoke  he 
heard  it  again  distinctly,  and  at  the  instant 
he  was  wide-awake. 

He  then  realized  the  fact  that  it  was  a  real 
cry  which  he  had  thought  he  heard  in  his 
dream,  and  that  it  came  from  one  of  the 
trees  near  by. 

It  was  surely  a  wild-cat,  and  he  and  his  friends 
were  in  the  presence  of  a  terrible  danger. 


28  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Should  he  awake  them,  and  call  upon  them 
to  help  him  destroy  the  beast? 

No ;  for  the  possible  noise  and  excitement 
might  draw  the  wild-cat's  attention  to  them, 
and  precipitate  its  attack. 

He  would  save  the  lives  of  his  comrades 
by  killing  the  creature,  and  all  the  glory  of 
the  exploit  would  be  his. 

Harry  quietly  slipped  away  from  the  couch, 
reached  for  his  gun,  which  he  always  kept 
near  his  side,  and  stealthily  stepped  forward 
to  search  for  the  prowling  beast. 

Again  he  heard  that  wailing  cry,  so  wild 
and  unearthly  that  it  fairly  made  him  shiver ; 
but  he  braced  himself  up  to  play  his  part  as 
the  hero,  and  looked  in  the  direction  from 
which  the  sound  had  come. 

The  night  was  quite  dark,  and  it  was  the 
darkness  that  rendered  more  fearfully  distinct 
and  vivid  a  pair  of  large  eyes  that  burned 
like  balls  of  fire,  near  the  first  fork  of  a  pine- 
tree  at  a  little  distance  from  him. 


HARRY  AND    THE    WILD-CAT.  29 

That  was  the  wild-cat  whose  cry  he  had 
heard,  and  it  had  evidently  not  yet  discovered 
him. 

He  slipped  behind  a  tree,  rested  his  gun 
against  the  trunk,  took  a  careful  aim  with  his 
rifle-barrel,  right  between  the  blazing  eyes  of 
the  beast,  though  he  was  almost  trembling 
with  excitement  and  perhaps  with  apprehen- 
sion, and  fired. 


CHAPTER   III. 

A     TERRIBLE    TORNADO. 

THE  report  of  Harry  Russell's  rifle  awoke 
the  echoes  of  the  woods,  and  also  awoke 
Louis  Hameau  and  Ben  Halstead. 

Louis  was  off  the  couch  and  on  his  feet 
at  the  instant  the  shot  was  fired,  and  the 
next  second  he  grabbed  his  rifle  and  ran  to 
Harry. 

"  What's  the  matter  ? "  he  cried.  "What  did 
you  shoot  at  ?  " 

"  A  wild-cat,"  eagerly  answered  the  lad.  "  I 
have  killed  a  wild-cat." 

"  You  have  ?  That's  a  big  thing,  if  it  is 
a  fact.  Where  is  he  ?  Did  he  tumble  ? " 

"Not  yet." 

"That's  queer.  Mebbe  you  didn't  finish 
him." 

"  Here  he  comes,  Louis  !  " 
3° 


A    TERRIBLE    TORNADO.  31 

Ben  had  reached  the  scene,  and  had  heard 
Harry's  assertion  that  he  had  killed  a  wild-cat. 

Something  dropped  to  the  ground  as  Harry 
spoke ;  but  it  did  not  come  with  a  plunge,  nor 
was  there  a  fall  of  any  heavy  body. 

On  the  contrary,  it  came  fluttering  down, 
and  the  fall  was  so  light  that  it  was  scarcely 
heard. 

Louis  Hameau  raised  it  from  the  ground, 
and  held  it  up  by  one  leg. 

"This  is  the  first  wild-cat  I  ever  saw  that 
wore  feathers,"  said  he,  "  and  those  I've  met 
ginerally  went  on  four  legs.  But  mebbe  Harry 
knows  more  about  wild-cats  than  I  do." 

The  lad  was  supremely  disgusted,  and  well 
he  might  be,  as  the  wild-cat  which  he  had 
prided  himself  upon  encountering  and  killing 
proved  to  be  an  immense  owl. 

Ben  shrieked  with  laughter,  and  Louis'  grin, 
though  he  did  not  say  anything  more,  was 
about  as  broad  as  his  face. 

"  I  don't  think  you  have  any  right  to  laugh 


32  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

at  me,"  protested  Harry.  "  You  told  me  about 
the  wild-cat's  cry,  Louis,  and  what  I  heard 
was  just  such  a  scream  as  you  described  to 
me." 

"  Somethin'  like  it,  anyhow  ;  and  when 
you've  been  longer  in  the  woods  you  may  1'arn 
to  tell  the  scream  of  a  scritch-owl  from  the 
yell  of  a  wild-cat.  But  I  can  say  that  you 
made  a  fine  shot,  Harry ;  and  when  a  feller 
shoots  as  well  as  that,  nobody  has  any  call 
to  laugh  at  him." 

"  That's  so,"  chimed  in  Ben.  "  It  was  a 
splendid  shot,  and  something  to  brag  of.  As 
Harry  really  believed  the  creature  to  be  a  wild- 
cat, he  was  wonderfully  brave  and  cool." 

Harry's  injured  feelings  being  mollified  by 
this  judicious  praise,  which  he  considered  well 
deserved,  the  three  comrades  returned  to  their 
camp  and  finished  their  sleep. 

The  next  afternoon,  as  they  were  paddling 
up  the  river,  there  was  an  extraordinary  change 
in  the  weather,  and  the  condition  of  the  sky 


A    TERRIBLE    TORNADO.  33 

and  the  air  soon  became  startling  even  to  such 
inexperienced  observers  as  Ben  and  Harry. 

The  sky  was  a  vault  of  bronze,  which  seemed 
to  be  settling  down  upon  the  earth  with  the 
purpose  of  crushing  it,  as  the  poor  prisoner 
was  squeezed  to  death  between  the  gradually 
closing  walls  of  his  iron  cell. 

It  was  certain  that  every  drop  of  moisture 
had  been  drawn  out  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
there  was  not  the  faintest  breath  of  air  stirring. 

Though  the  weather  should  have  been  rea- 
sonably cool  at  that  season  and  that  hour, 
the  heat  was  like  furnace-heat  —  dry,  oppres- 
sive, almost  intolerable,  and  perspiration  oozed 
from  the  pores  of  the  paddlers,  no  matter  how 
slowly  they  paddled,  until  it  dripped  from  their 
clothing. 

"We  can't  stand  this  much  longer,"  grum- 
bled Ben  Halstead,  as  he  mopped  his  reeking 
and  blazing  face. 

"  What  will  we  do  about  it  ?  "  inquired 
Harry. 


34 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 


"  Go  ashore,  pull  up  the  canoe,  and  drop  our 
burning  bodies  into  the  cool  water." 

"  That's  a  jolly  good  idea." 

"  Plenty  wet  afore  long,"  observed  Louis, 
who  was  gazing  gloomily  at  the  south-eastern 
sky. 

There  were  lurid  streaks  then  in  the  bronze 
vault  above  them,  with  flashes  of  yellow  and 
green,  angry  and  ominous-looking,  and  down 
toward  the  horizon,  or  as  near  it  as  the  tree- 
tops  would  allow  it  to  be  seen,  the  streaks 
were  gathered  to  a  focus  of  reddish  light,  as  if 
some  invisible  but  awful  force  was  striving  to 
bore  a  hole  through  the  close  mass  of  clouds. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  we  are  going  to  have  the 
biggest  kind  of  a  rain-storm  pretty  soon,"  as- 
sented Ben. 

"If  it  ain't  nothin'  wuss'n  that,  we'll  be 
mighty  lucky,"  growled  Louis. 

"  What   is  likely  to   be  worse  ? " 

"  A  harrycane  —  a  wind-sweep,  such  as 
tears  up  and  knocks  down  everythin'  in  its 


A    TERRIBLE    TORNADO.  35 

way.  It's  a  thing  that  we  can't  fight  or  run 
away  from,  too,  and  the  only  hope  is  that 
the  streak  mayn't  happen  to  strike  us." 

"  All  the  more  reason,  then,  why  we  should 
go  ashore." 

"  You  are  right  about  that,  Ben,  though 
it's  quite  as  bad  to  be  caught  in  the  woods 
as  on  the  water." 

"  Anyhow,  if  it  should  prove  to  be  nothing 
but  a  rain-storm,  we  can  shelter  ourselves 
from  that." 

"Just   so,  and  we'll  go   ashore." 

The  canoe  was  pulled  up  on  the  west  bank, 
well  away  from  the  water,  and  the  sail-cloth 
was  arranged  as  a  shelter-tent  near  the 
shore,  and  fastened  to  the  ground  as  securely 
as  possible,  to  guard  it  against  a  blow. 

"I  am  hungry  enough  to  eat  an  owl,"  said 
Ben  Halstead,  "and  I  am  going  to  pick  up 
a  little  dry  wood  before  the  rain  comes." 

"  I  am  almost  afraid  to  have  you  go," 
observed  the  guide. 


36  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR, 

"  Oh,  I  will  be  careful  enough,  and  I 
won't  go  out  of  sight  of  the  camp,  as  I 
can  easily  pick  up  what  I  want  right  about 
here." 

Ben  hastened  away,  and  Louis  and  Harry 
busied  themselves  with  taking  some  articles 
out  of  the  canoe,  and  storing  them  in  the 
shelter-tent. 

The  lurid  clouds  at  the  south-east,  with  the 
reddish  light  and  the  streaks  of  yellow  and 
green,  seemed  to  have  formed  a  funnel,  the 
edge  of  which  was  vividly  bright,  while  the 
hollow  was  intensely  black. 

Louis  and  Harry  were  gazing  with  wonder 
and  apprehension  at  the  ominous  sight  when 
the  storm  burst  with  startling  suddenness. 

It  came  with  a  rush  and  a  roar  and  a  cyclonic 
fury  that  words  would  be  quite  inadequate  to 
describe,  and  its  nature  can  only  be  judged  by 
a  statement  of  its  effects. 

As  Louis  had  said,  it  was  something  that 
It  Mras  impossible  to  resist  or  avoid — a  force 


A    TERRIBLE    TORNADO.  37 

before  which  the  utmost  efforts  of  man  were 
as  nothing. 

The  two  comrades  at  the  shore  could  only 
throw  themselves  on  the  ground,  hoping  that 
it  would  pass  over  or  by  them. 

As  it  left  the  other  shore  it  seemed  to 
have  seized  a  large  portion  of  the  forest  in 
its  grip,  snatching  it  up  into  the  air,  where 
it  was  flung  and  whirled  about  in  a  blinding 
confusion. 

When  it  struck  the  water-  it  ploughed  a 
passage  like  that  which  opened  for  the  Israel- 
ites when  they  fled  before  the  Egyptians, 
throwing  up  on  the  opposite  shore  such  a 
wave  of  water  as  swamped  Harry  and  the  guide, 
half  drowning  them. 

Then  there  was  nothing  heard  but  the  crack- 
ing of  timber,  the  rending  of  boughs,  and  the 
falling  of  great  trees,  though  none  of  those 
sounds  were  clearly  distinguishable  in  the 
deafening  roar  of  the  tornado. 

It    seemed   to   the    two   who    lay    prostrate 


38  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

there  that  this  lasted  a  long  time,  though  it 
was  really  over  in  a  few  seconds,  as  the 
storm  passed  like  a  cannon-ball. 

Then  came  the  thunder  and  lightning,  peal 
upon  peal,  and  flash  after  flash,  until  the  hea- 
vens and  the  earth  seemed  both  to  be  full  of 
the  noise  and  the  light,  and  then  followed  a 
drenching  rain. 

The  water  came  neither  by  drops  nor  in  a 
pour,  but  fell  down  in  a  bunch,  as  if  the  bottom 
had  been  knocked  out  of  a  huge  tank  up 
yonder. 

This  was  also  quickly  over,  the  rain  taking 
the  track  of  the  tornado,  and  Louis  and  Harry 
arose  with  difficulty,  shook  their  soaked  gar- 
ments like  a  pair  of  water-dogs,  and  looked 
about  them. 

The  darkness  was  still  dense,  as  it  was  then 
nightfall ;  but  it  was  possible  to  judge  of  the 
nature  of  the  damage,  though  quite  impossible 
to  estimate  its  extent. 

Over  a  space  some  twenty  rods  in  width  the 


A    TERRIBLE    TORNADO.  39 

cyclone  had  made  a  clear  track  through  the 
forest,  tearing  up  and  overthrowing  everything 
in  its  way ;  but  outside  of  that  limit  there  had 
not  been  the  faintest  distuAance. 

The  mower  that  had  gone  through  those 
woods  at  such  tremendous  speed  had  cut  a 
clean  swath,  though  the  spoils  of  his  scythe, 
instead  of  being  laid  neatly  at  one  side,  were 
tumbled  and  jumbled  together  like  gigantic 
jackstraws. 

As  for  the  tent,  that  had  disappeared,  leav- 
ing no  sign  of  its  existence,  and  most  of  the 
articles  that  had  been  so  carefully  stowed  away 
were  missing  or  ruined. 

The  canoe,  considerably  to  their  surprise, 
had  not  received  any  injury,  except  that  it  had 
been  filled  with  water,  and  had  been  carried  a 
little  further  inland  by  the  great  wave  that 
swept  over  the  shore. 

These  things,  however,  mattered  little  to 
Harry  and  the  guide. 

It  was    sad  to  find  themselves  drenched  to 


40  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

the  skin,  sadder  to  know  that  they  had  lost 
their  tent  and  sail  cloth,  and  yet  sadder  to 
perceive  that  a  large  portion  of  their  stores 
had  been  destroyed ;  but  there  was  a  deeper 
and  darker  sadness  behind  all  this. 

What  had  become  of  Ben  Halstead  ? 

He  had  gone  out  to  gather  some  dry  wood, 
and  his  course  had  taken  him  right  into  the 
track  of  the  tornado. 

When  the  storm  struck,  he  must  necessarily 
have  been  in  the  thick  of  it,  where  the  big 
trees  were  falling,  and  where  the  destruction 
was  the  most  complete. 

It  was  not  possible  that  he  could  have  lived 
through  such  an  experience. 

As  Louis  and  Harry  thought  of  these 
things,  they  looked  at  each  other,  but  said 
nothing. 

Their  hearts  were  too  full  for  words. 

The  guide  dropped  on  his  knees,  and  cov- 
ered his  face  with  his  hands. 

He  was  responsible  for  Ben   Halstead,  and 


A    TERRIBLE    TORNADO.  41 

how  should  he  account  for  the  lad  to  his  father 
and  mother  ? 

Better  the  loss  of  a  hundred  diamond  stars 
than  such  a  disaster. 

Harry  Russell  stood  and  stared  mournfully 
at  Louis,  unable  to  make  a  move  or  offer  a 
suggestion. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

BURIED    IN    A    WINDFALL. 

THE  guide  was  the  first  of  the  two  to  come 
to  his  senses  and  look  the  trouble  fairly  in 
the  face. 

Perhaps  he  had  been  praying  as  he  knelt 
there  on  the  soggy  ground. 

It  is  certain  that  when  he  arose  to  his  feet 
he  was  calmer  and  stronger  than  he  had  been. 

"We  must  find  him,"  said  he,  "whether  he 
is  alive  or  dead ;  and  I'm  afraid,  Harry,  that 
there  ain't  the  least  bit  o'  hope  o'  findin'  him 
alive." 

Harry  could  only  shudder  and  be  silent. 

"  We  must  find  him,"  continued  the  guide, 
"  and  must  set  at  work  in  the  right  way. 
There  ain't  no  use  in  hurryin'  —  God  help  us  ! 
42 


BURIED  IN  A    WINDFALL.  43 

—  and  so  we  may  as  well  take  plenty  o'  time, 
and  start  a  reg'lar  search.  The  fust  thing  is 
to  build  a  fire,  so's  we  can  have  a  light  here 
and  torches  to  help  us  out  yonder." 

This  was  what  they  proceeded  to  do  ;  Harry, 
though  he  was  half-dazed,  doing  good  work 
under  the  directions  of  the  guide. 

Everything  was  soaking  wet,  but  Louis, 
who  was  a  master  of  wood-craft,  soon  had  a 
fire  blazing,  and  then  the  green  and  wet 
boughs  burned  readily  enough,  until  there  was 
a  big  bonfire  near  the  shore. 

Both  the  sorrowful  comrades  took  off  their 
wet  garments,  wrung  out  the  water,  and  al- 
lowed some  more  of  the  moisture  to  steam  out 
in  front  of  the  fire. 

Then  they  lighted  torches  of  pine-knots,  of 
which  it  was  easy  to  find  plenty  among  the 
debris  of  the  tornado,  and  began  their  sad 
search  for  something  —  not  somebody  —  which 
they  both  hoped  and  feared  to  find. 

The    sky   had     cleared    after    that    terrible 


44  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

storm,  and  the  stars  had  come  out,  though  the 
big  bonfire  near  at  hand  was  more  serviceable 
than  their  light. 

When  the  searchers  came  to  the  track  of  the 
tornado,  it  was  a  most  disheartening  sight  that 
was  spread  before  them. 

Big  and  little  timber  was  piled  up  there 
in  most  inextricable  confusion,  mingled  with 
splintered  boughs  and  a  mass  of  debris  that 
rendered  human  progress  impossible. 

They  might  as  well  think  of  flying  as  of 
trying  to  make  their  way  through  or  over  that 
tangle  of  forest  wreck  and  ruin. 

To  clear  any  part  of  it  away  with  axes 
would  require  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  and  it 
would  seem  that  nothing  short  of  an  extensive 
conflagration  could  open  a  passage  through  it. 

Louis  walked  as  near  to  the  thick  of  the 
mass  as  he  could  get,  and  began  to  call  the 
missing  comrade ;  but  the  voice  with  which 
he  spoke  was  hardly  his  own  voice. 

The    hopelessness   of   the   quest    made   him 


BURIED  IN  A    WINDFALL.  45 

half-hearted,  and  his  tone  was  nothing  like  as 
bold  and  full  as  it  ought  to  have  been. 

"  You  must  call  louder,  Louis,"  suggested 
Harry. 

Neither  of  them  believed  that  the  loudest 
cry  that  could  be  uttered  would  be  heard  by 
their  dead  friend ;  but  the  guide  raised  his 
voice  to  a  higher  pitch,  and  shouted  again. 

"Hello!"  came  back  a  response,  but  faintly 
and  as  if  from  a  distance. 

"  Ben  !  "  shouted  Louis  again,  and  this  time 
the  response  was  plainer  than  before. 

"  He  is  in  there  ! "  cried  Harry.  "  He  is 
alive  !  Oh,  Louis,  I  am  so  glad !  " 

But  the  guide's  countenance  fell,  and  he 
shook  his  head  sadly. 

"  If  you'd  use  your  ears  a  little  better,"  said 
he,  "  you'd  know  that  the  voice  came  from  the 
river,  and  it  ain't  likely  that  Ben  is  there." 

Again  came  the  cry,  nearer  and  clearer. 

"  Hello  !     Hello    on    shore    there  !  " 

It  was  even  evident  to  Harry  that  the  hail 


46  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

came  from  the  river,  and  he  and  the  guide 
hastened  in  that  direction. 

"There'll  be  help  for  us,  anyhow,"  said 
Louis. 

The  party  that  had  hailed  from  the  river 
had  reached  the  shore  when  the  two  comrades 
got  there,  and  they  proved  to  be  four  men  in 
a  large  skiff  which  was  fairly  loaded  with 
stores  and  other  necessaries. 

They  appeared  to  be  loggers  or  lumbermen, 
and  one  of  them  was  instantly  recognized  and 
hailed  by  Louis  Hameau. 

"  Hello,  Hank  Martin  !  How  did  you  hap- 
pen to  git  here  jest  now  ? " 

"  We  saw  a  big  fire  burnin'  on  shore,  and 
guessed  there  must  be  somebody  nigh  it." 

"  Where  did  you  come  from  ? " 

"'Way  up  the  river.  We  have  been  hun- 
tin'  timber  for  Halstead  &  Cranston,  and 
have  located  a  likely  place  for  the  winter's 
loggin',  and  now  we  are  goin'  home." 

"  You    have     been    mighty     smart     to     git 


BURIED  IN  A    WINDFALL.  47 

through  so  soon.  Hiram  Halstead's  son  is 
here  with  me.  That  is,  this  is  his  nephew 
with  me  now;  but  t'other  one  — 

"What's    the   matter    with     t'other   one?" 

"Fact  is,  Hank,  that  we  had  a  wind-sweep 
here  last  night." 

"We  thought  that  there  must  be  some- 
thin'  of  the  kind  goin'  on  down  here.  Do 
you  mean  to  say  that  you  got  caught  in 
it?" 

"  Harry  Russell,  here,  and  I  jest  missed 
it  by  a  hair's-breadth ;  but  Ben  Halstead  got 
caught  in  it,  and  I'm  afeard  there's  no  doubt 
that  he  was  killed." 

"  Marciful  Heavens  !  Hiram  Halstead's  boy 
killed  in  that  way ! " 

"  Don't  know  how  he  could  have  missed 
it.  We  was  up  at  the  windfall,  lookin*  for 
him,  when  we  heard  your  hail,  and  I'm 
mighty  glad  that  you've  come,  as  we  need 
help  badly." 

"You  shall    have   it,     Louis.      Step    lively, 


48  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

boys,  and  we  will  help  these  folks  find  Mr. 
Halstead's  son." 

The  hardy  loggers  jumped  ashore,  pulled 
up  their  heavy  boat,  and  accompanied  Louis 
and  Harry  to  the  fire,  where  each  took  a 
lighted  pine-knot,  and  they  began  the  search 
with  no  delay. 

When  they  reached  the  windfall,  Hank 
Martin  took  the  direction  of  the  operations. 

As  there  was  clearly  no  use  in  trying  to 
go  through  or  over  the  tangle,  he  sent  Louis 
with  two  of  the  loggers  on  one  side  of  the 
mass  of  fallen  timbers,  while  he  took  the 
other  side  with  another  of  his  men  and 
Harry  Russell. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  make  any  kind 
of  a  search  of  the  tangle  at  night,  and  the 
only  hope  in  this  proceeding  was  the  faint 
one  that  the  lad  might  be  alive,  or  might 
have  been  caught  at  an  edge  of  the  windfaH. 

So  they  passed  slowly  along  the  edges  of 
the  tangle,  within  the  standing  timber,  wav- 


BURIED  IN  A    WINDFALL.  49 

ing  their  torches  in  the  air  to  make  them  burn 
freely,  and  calling  the  missing  youth  as  Louis 
Hameau  had  called  him. 

After  a  while,  Hank  Martin,  who  was  a 
little  in  advance  of  his  party,  stopped  sud- 
denly and  held  up  his  hand. 

This  meant  that  he  had  seen  or  heard  some- 
thing, and  that  he  required  silence  and  caution. 

Harry  and  his  companion  crept  toward 
him  and  listened  while  he  called  again. 

"  Ben  !     Ben    Halstead  !  " 

Harry  started  as  he  heard  a  faint  "  Hello  ! " 
in  reply,  and  was  sure  that  it  did  not  come  this 
time  from  the  direction  of  the  river. 

He  jumped  on  a  log,  and  was  hastening 
to  climb  into  the  thick  of  the  tangle  when 
he  was  pulled  back  by  Hank  Martin. 

"  None  o'  that,  young  gentleman,  if  you 
please,"  ordered  the  sturdy  logger.  "  You  are 
a  leetle  too  hasty.  If  your  friend  is  in  there, 
you  would  be  more  likely  to  pull  somethin' 
down  on  him  than  to  find  him.  Suppose 


50  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

you  call  him,  as  he  knows  your  voice,  and 
maybe  we  can  place  him  then." 

Harry  eagerly  called  Ben,  and  the  answer 
was  faint  but  clear. 

"Hello,    Harry!" 

"  Is   that   you,   Ben  ?  " 

"Of   course  it  is." 

"Are  you   much   hurt?" 

"Not  a  bit,  but  am  pinned  down  here  so 
that  I  can't  stir." 

"  Oh,  Louis !  Ben's  alive  over  here,  and 
all  right!" 

Louis  Hameau  did  not  clearly  hear  the  lad's 
words  across  the  belt  of  fallen  timber  ;  but  Hank 
Martin  sent  the  good  news  on  the  wings  of  his 
powerful  voice,  and  the  guide  shouted  for  joy. 

Axes  were  then  wanted,  and  were  speedily 
procured,  and  the  stout  loggers  began  work 
as  soon  as  possible  at  a  task  which  nobody 
understood  better  than  they. 

It  was  their  unanimous  opinion  that  there 
was  only  one  plan  to  be  pursued,  and  that  was 


BURIED  IN  A    WINDFALL.  5  t 

to  cut  a  passage  through  the  tangle  to  the 
spot  where  the  boy  was  imprisoned. 

Hank  Martin  had  already  located  the  spot 
by  Ben's  voice,  and  the  course  was  made  cer- 
tain by  calling  to  him  as  the  work  proceeded. 

A  big  fire  was  built  to  give  light  to  the 
workers,  and  two  of  the  men  began  to  chop 
away  the  logs  and  branches,  while  the  others 
hauled  off  the  timber  and  debris. 

Though  the  loggers  were  first-class  hands, 
and  all  worked  with  a  will,  the  job  was  so 
tedious  and  difficult  that  the  night  was 
nearly  finished  when  the  lad  was  reached. 

Then  it  proceeded  more  slowly,  as  it  was 
necessary  to  be  very  careful  in  working  near 
him,  lest  a  heavy  log  or  branch  should  be  let 
down  upon  him  and  crush  him. 

He  was  found  pinned  to  the  earth  in  a  man- 
ner which  showed  that  his  escape  from  death 
had  been  little  short  of  miraculous. 

He  was  lying  on  his  face  between  the 
trunks  of  two  large  trees,  which  had  fallen  on 


52  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

each  side  of  him,  so  close  that  they  almost 
touched  him  ;  and  over  the  trunks  was  piled 
a  jumbled  mass  of  splintered  timber  and 
broken  branches. 

One  of  the  big  boughs  had  sent  down  a  prong 
between  the  trunks,  grazing  the  boy's  side,  pass- 
ing through  his  coat,  and  thus  pinning  him  to 
the  ground  so  that  he  could  not  stir. 

His  long  confinement  in  one  position  had 
wearied  and  pained  him  ;  but  he  soon  got 
over  that  after  he  was  extricated. 

Stretching  and  kicking  about  a  little  made 
him  quite  himself  again. 

When  he  was  pressed  to  tell  his  story,  he 
could  only  say  that  he  was  suddenly  knocked 
over  by  the  tornado,  and  the  next  moment  he 
found  himself  fast  in  the  position  from  which 
he  had  just  been  released. 

"  I  guess  you  won't  want  the  wood  that  I 
went  after,  Louis,"  he  observed. 

"  No,  Ben,  I  need  nothin'  but  you,  and  I 
won't  want  ever  to  lose  sight  o'  you  ag'in." 


CHAPTER   V. 

FISHING    SPORT   SPOILED. 

THE  loggers,  who  were  well  acquainted  with 
Hiram  Halstead,  rejoiced  at  the  safety  of  his 
son,  equally  with  Louis  and  Harry,  and  all 
returned  to  the  shore,  where  they  were  a  jolly 
party  at  an  early  morning  camp. 

The  exciting  events  of  the  night  had  put 
the  thought  of  sleep  out  of  their  heads,  and 
daylight  soon  stirred  them  up  to  fresh  duties, 
the  most  important  of  which  was  the  prepara- 
tion of  breakfast. 

All  were  hungry  enough,  and  the  searchers 
for  the  Star  were  especially  so,  as  they  had 
eaten  nothing  since  the  noon  meal  of  the  pre- 
vious day. 

The  loggers  furnished  the  breakfast,  as  the 
stores  of  the  other  party  had  been  badly 
53 


54      THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

demoralized  by  the  tornado,  and  during  the 
meal  they  wanted  to  know  what  had  brought 
Louis  Hameau  and  his  young  friends  up  into 
the  woods. 

"  We  are  lookin'  for  a  Canadian  man  named 
Baptiste,"  answered  Louis.  "  Mebbe  you 
know  him." 

"  We  know  a  good  many  of  him,"  remarked 
Hank  Martin.  "  Seems  to  me  that  nearly 
every  other  Kanuck  goes  by  the  name  of 
Battees." 

"  This   man    is    Baptiste    Lafonce." 

"  I  remember  that  name  too.  What  does  he 
look  like?" 

With  the  assistance  of  Ben  and  Harry, 
Louis  gave  a  good  description  of  the  missing 
Canadian,  and  it  was  recognized  by  more  than 
one  of  the  skiff  party. 

"  I  know  that  chap  well  enough,"  said  Hank. 
"  A  sneakin,'  prowlin'  sort  of  a  critter,  who 
kept  to  himself,  and  had  mighty  little  to  say 
to  anybody." 


FISHING  SPORT  SPOILED.  55 

"Have  you  seen  him  lately?"  eagerly  in- 
quired Ben. 

"Not  for  sk  months  or  so.  He  was  loggin' 
last  winter  with  Whitby's  gang,  but  didn't 
start  down  the  river  with  them.  I  believe  he 
went  back  to  his  home  or  his  own  folks." 

"  Do  you  know  where  he  came  from  ?  " 

"  Somewhere  'way  up  the  Sebois.  It  runs  in 
my  head  that  he  had  been  livin'  with  the  Injuns 
up  there." 

This  was  all  the  information  the  loggers  had 
to  give  ;  but  it  was  quite  satisfactory  to  Louis, 
as  it  assured  him  that  Baptiste  had  lately  been 
seen  in  the  flesh,  and  was  probably  yet  alive. 

After  breakfast,  the  skiff  party  helped  their 
friends  to  put  the  canoe  in  order  and  search  for 
the  scattered  items  of  their  stores  ;  but  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  these  had  been  lost  or 
destroyed,  and  the  loggers  cheerfully  supplied 
the  deficiency  from  their  abundance. 

The  two  parties  separated  with  mutual  good- 
wishes,  and  Louis  and  his  young  comrades  pad- 


56      THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

died  and  sailed  and  poled  their  canoe  without 
any  serious  difficulty  up  into  the  East  Branch  of 
the  Penobscot. 

The  guide  broke  his  companions  to  the  work 

of  poling  whenever  he  could  find  any  reasona- 

.  ble  excuse  for  setting  them  at  it,  as  he  wanted 

them  to  be  skilful,  as  well   as   muscular   and 

active,  when  they  should  reach  difficult  rapids. 

Any  of  these  could,  of  course,  be  got  around 
by  unloading  the  canoe  at  the  shore  and  carry- 
ing it  and  its  contents  up  the  bank  to  the 
smooth  water  above  ;  but  Louis  was  greatly 
averse  to  the  tedious  labor  of  portages,  and 
preferred  to  pass  all  but  the  worst  of  the  rapids 
by  poling,  an  operation  that  required  the  exer- 
cise of  no  little  strength  and  skill. 

At  the  junction  of  the  rivers  was  a  house  of 
call  or  backwoods  tavern,  as  well  as  a  depot  for 
supplies,  which  was  then  kept  by  an  Irishman, 
named  Tim  Haley. 

Louis  made  a  brief  stop  at  Tim  Haley's, 
after  cautioning  his  companions  to  say  nothing 


FISHING  SPORT  SPOILED.  57 

of  the  real  object  of  the  expedition,  but  to 
speak  of  themselves  as  bound  on  a  pleasure  ex- 
cursion only. 

There  were  several  guests  at  Haley's  just 
then  ;  a  few  freighters,  —  usually  styled  drogers, 
—  who  had  brought  goods  from  below  with  ox- 
teams,  and  two  timber-prospectors,  who  had 
come  down  to  get  supplies  for  their  camp. 

Louis  easily  fraternized  with  these  men,  and, 
in  the  course  of  the  talk  that  ensued,  he  asked 
them  if  any  Kanucks  had  been  seen  about  those 
parts  lately. 

"  Why,  more  or  less,"  answered  one  of  the 
loggers.  "  About  the  usual  allowance  of  the 
thievin'  scamps,  I  guess.  We've  lost  a  lot  of 
traps  lately,  and  I  know  that  some  Kanucks 
have  been  prowlin'  about  our  camps." 

"  I  don't  mean  that  kind,"  said  Louis,  with  a 
look  of  disgust.  "  There's  plenty  of  'em,  as  I 
know,  to  give  the  country  they  came  from  a 
bad  name  ;  but  there's  plenty  of  decent  Kan- 
ucks too,  as  you  know.  I'm  a  Kanuck  myself, 


58      THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

and  I  claim  to  be  as  steady  and  honest  as  most 
folks." 

"  I  guess  you're  straight  enough,  mister. 
There's  plenty  of  good  Kanucks,  as  you  say, 
and  I've  worked  with  some  of  'em  who  were  as 
good  men  as  I  care  to  forgather  with." 

"  Do  you  happen  to  know  one  of  'em  named 
Baptiste  Lafonce  ?  " 

"  I  don't  seem  to  remember  anybody  of  that 
name." 

"What  do  you  want  of  Baptiste  Lafonce, 
mister?"  demanded  one  of  the  loggers,  a  low- 
browed and  black-bearded  man,  who  had  been 
listening  to  the  conversation  as  he  smoked. 

"  He's  a  sort  o'  relation  o'  mine,"  answered 
Louis,  —  "a  cousin  o'  my  wife's,  —  and  I 
thought  I'd  look  him  up  if  I  should  hear  of 
his  bein'  in  these  parts.  Do  you  know  any- 
thin'  about  him?" 

"  Not  much.  The  last  I  heerd  of  him,  he 
had  crawled  into  his  hole,  and  had  pulled  the 
hole  in  after  him." 


FISHING  SPORT  SPOILED.  59 

It  was  clear  that  the  logger  was  not  disposed 
to  give  any  information,  and  that  he  was  sus- 
picious of  the  man  who  wanted  it. 

Consequently  it  was  to  be  presumed  that  he 
knew  more  than  he  cared  to  tell. 

Somewhat  disappointed  at  their  inability  to 
obtain  any  useful  information  in  that  quarter, 
the  searchers  for  the  Star  went  up  the  East 
Branch,  and  then  the  most  arduous  of  their 
labors  began,  as  the  river  was  low  at  that  time 
of  the  year,  and  they  were  obliged  to  pole  up 
some  pretty  severe  rapids,  the  ascent  of  which 
called  for  all  their  skill  and  strength. 

After  passing  one  of  the  worst  of  these  ob- 
structions to  navigation,  Ben  Halstead  declared 
that  his  arms  felt  as  big  as  barrels. 

"  You  are  pilin'  up  a  muscle,  my  boy,"  said 
Louis,  "  that  you  can  brag  of  after  a  while." 

"  That  is  all  right ;  but  I  believe  I  would 
rather  pile  it  up  a  little  more  gradually." 

Their  consolation  was  found  in  the  fact  that 
there  was  then  comparatively  little  current  in 


60      THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

the  river,  and  therefore  navigation  was  easy 
enough  between  the  rapids. 

Thus  they  reached  the  mouth  of  a  stream 
which  was  known  as  the  Mattawaumpony  River, 
though  Ben  Halstead  insisted  on  shortening 
the  name  to  Pony,  and  Louis  told  him  that  he 
ought  to  show  the  river  more  respect. 

"It  is  nothing  but  a  pony  stream,  anyhow," 
Ben  retorted.  "  When  it  grows  bigger,  I  may 
apologize  to  it." 

"  If  you  should  happen  around  here  in  the 
spring,  Ben,  when  all  the  creeks  are  howlin', 
you'd  give  in  that  this  river  desarves  every  bit 
of  its  name." 

Here  they  stopped  to  rest,  if  hunting  and 
fishing  can  be  called  resting.  It  was  at  least 
what  the  Yankees  call  resting  by  changing 
work.  Besides,  they  wanted  something  fresh 
in  the  way  of  eatables. 

"  We  haven't  had  a  bit  of  game,"  said  Ben, 
"  since  Harry  shot  the  jabberwock." 

"All    right,"    answered    Harry,     "you    may 


FISHING  SPORT  SPOILED.  6j 

laugh  as  you  please ;  but  you  haven't  yet  shot 
anything  as  big  as  my  jabberwock." 

"  That's  so,  my  boy.  It  may  be  your  turn  to 
laugh  next,  and  I  am  not  going  to  crow  too 
loud  yet  awhile." 

When  there  was  hunting  to  be  done,  it  was 
always  necessary  that  one  of  the  three  should 
remain  at  the  camp  or  the  boat  to  guard  the 
property  of  the  party,  and  the  one  to  stay 
behind  must  be  either  Ben  or  Harry,  as  the 
guide  would  not  allow  them  to  venture  into  the 
woods  without  him. 

They  were  at  first  inclined  to  think  that  this 
was  selfish  in  Louis  ;  but  he  believed  that  until 
they  were  better  versed  in  the  ways  of  the 
woods  there  was  danger  that  they  might  get 
lost,  or  fall  into  some  other  trouble. 

For  the  first  hunt  after  they  camped  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mattawaumpony  the  lads  drew 
lots,  and  fortune  decided  that  Harry  should  go 
with  the  guide. 

It  was  lonesome  for  Ben  when  they  had  left 


62  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

him  there ;  but  he  managed  to  get  rid  of  the 
time  by  cleaning  up  things  and  putting  the 
camp  in  order,  until  noon,  when  he  cooked  and 
ate  his  dinner. 

After  dinner,  time  hung  heavy  on  his  hands. 

He  could  not  go  to  sleep,  as  he  was  there  to 
guard  the  camp,  and  he  did  not  know  what  to 
do  with  himself,  until  it  occurred  to  him  that 
there  might  be  a  chance  to  catch  some  fish. 

The  "  Pony  "  was  a  quiet  and  sluggish  stream 
at  that  season,  and  at  the  mouth  it  formed  a 
rather  broad  bit  of  water,  which  might  pass 
for  a  pond,  or  at  least  for  a  pool. 

As  the  water  was  clear  and  cool,  there  ought 
to  be  fish  there ;  and  if  so,  they  would  be  easy 
to  catch. 

No  reel  or  flies  or  other  special  apparatus 
was  needed  for  the  purpose  —  only  a  rod  that 
was  easily  cut  and  trimmed  on  the  spot,  and 
a  line  with  a  hook  and  sinker,  and  some  pork 
for  bait. 

These  appliances  were  soon  ready,  and  Ben 


FISHING  SPORT  SPOILED.  63 

left  his  gun  standing  against  a  tree  at  the 
camp,  while  he  went  to  the  river  to  fish. 

Seating  himself  on  a  flat  stone  at  the  water's 
edge,  he  threw  out  his  line,  and  was  pleased 
by  the  speedy  discovery  that  fish  were  there. 

They  were  not  very  valuable  fish  at  first, 
as  he  caught  nothing  but  chub ;  but  after  a 
while  he  hooked  and  landed  a  fine  trout,  and 
occasionally  more  of  them  came  along. 

Ben  threw  the  chub  upon  the  grass  as  he 
caught  them,  but  the  trout  he  strung  on  a 
twig  and  kept  in  the  water. 

This  was  a  real  pleasure  to  him,  and  he 
easily  persuaded  himself  into  the  belief  that 
he  was  having  a  better  time  than  the  hunters. 

In  the  full  enjoyment  of  this  belief,  he  was 
devoting  his  entire  attention  to  his  fishing, 
when  he  heard  a  heavy  breathing  behind  him, 
accompanied  by  a  champing  and  grunting, 
something  like  the  noise  made  by  a  hog  in 
eating. 

Looking  around  quickly,  he  saw  something 


64  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

that  made  him  drop  his  pole  as  if  it  had  burned 
his  fingers. 

At  a  little  distance  from  him  was  a  big 
brown  bear,  seated  on  his  haunches,  busily 
engaged  in  devouring  the  chub  that  had  been 
thrown  up  there. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

TREED    BY    A    BEAR. 

.  BEN  HALSTEAD  had  never  before  met  a  bear 
in  the  flesh  ;  but  he  recognized  the  brown 
beast  as  soon  as  he  saw  him. 

He  immediately  lost  interest  in  his  fishing, 
and  could  think  of  nothing  but  how  to  get  out 
of  his  unpleasant  position. 

It  is  an  old  saying  that  "two  is  company;" 
but  on  this  occasion  the  lad  was  clearly  of 
the  opinion  that  there  was  one  too  many  in 
the  company. 

The  bear  had  either  not  yet  perceived  the 
boy,  or  was  too  busy  with  his  present  occu- 
pation to  pay  any  attention  to  him. 

He  would  pick  up  a  chub  with  his  paw,  carry 
it   to   his   mouth,    and   eat    it   with    a   curious 
mixture  of  humanity  and  hoggishness. 
65 


66  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Evidently,  he  had  happened  on  a  good  thing, 
and  knew  how  to  enjoy  it. 

He  was  between  the  boy  and  the  camp,  and 
necessarily  between  the  boy  and  his  gun. 

Even  if  Ben  could  have  got  the  gun,  he  was 
not  at  all  sure  that  he  would  have  been  much  bet- 
ter off,  as  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  kill  a  big  bear. 

There  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  get  out 
of  the  way,  and  it  was  a  serious  question 
whether  he  would  be  able  to  do  that. 

It  was  not  likely  that  he  could  do  it  unless 
the  bear  was  kind  enough  or  blind  enough  to 
let  him,  and  it  may  be  set  down  as  a  fact  in 
natural  history  that  kindness  and  blindness  are 
not  in  the  natures  of  bears. 

If  he  should  attempt  to  run  up  or  down  the 
river,  the  bear,  having  the  advantage  of  posi- 
tion, could  easily  head  him  off. 

There  was  no  other  way  for  him  to  run, 
unless  he  should  jump  into  the  river,  and  he 
was  well  aware  of  the  fact  that  a  bear  could 
swim  as  well  as  he  could. 


TREED  BY  A  BEAR.  fy 

His  only  chance  seemed  to  be  tc  sneak  off  as 
quietly  as  he  could,  hoping  that  he  might  not 
attract  the  attention  of  the  bear,  but  would  be 
able  to  get  around  him  unperceived,  and  reach 
what  might  be  regarded  as  the  safe  side  of 
him. 

He  started  to  execute  this  manoeuvre ;  but 
his  first  movement  aroused  Master  Bruin,  who 
dropped  the  chub  'he  was  eating,  and  walked 
toward  the  boy. 

Ben  began  to  run,  and  then  the  bear  came 
after  him  at  a  lively  rate. 

The  lad  was  quite  sure  that  he  was  not  the 
equal  of  his  four-footed  pursuer  in  speed  or 
endurance,  and  a  way  of  escape  must  be  found 
at  once,  if  ever. 

Before  him  rose  a  young  tamarack-tree,  tall 
and  with  a  slim  trunk,  and  Ben  hastened  to  it 
and  embraced  the  trunk  as  the  only  chance  of 
safety  that  was  left  to  him. 

He  counted  himself  a  good  climber,  but  he 
had  never  climbed  anything  as  he  shinned  that 


68  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

tamarack-trT  -',  and,  when  he  felt  like  slipping 
down,  the  scratching  of  the  bear  below  gave 
new  vigor  to  his  body,  and  a  better  grip  to  his 
hands  and  legs. 

By  dint  of  the  greatest  exertions  of  which  he 
was  capable,  he  reached  the  first  branch,  threw 
a  leg  over  it,  and  hung  there,  so  breathless  and 
exhausted  that  he  could  scarcely  cling  to  the 
tree. 

After  a  while  he  secured  a  safer  and  easier 
position,  from  which  he  surveyed  the  scene 
below  him. 

The  bear,  who  was  not  in  the  habit  of  climb- 
ing saplings,  and  had  not  thought  it  worth 
while  to  worry  himself  with  the  young  tama- 
rack, was  seated  near  the  foot  of  the  tree,  look- 
ing upward  expectantly. 

9  His  look  seemed  to  say :  "  It's  all  right, 
young  fellow.  I've  got  a  sure  thing.  You 
can't  get  away,  and  are  bound  to  drop  before 
long." 

This  was   so   provoking   to   Ben,  whose   re- 


Taking  good  aim,  he  fired  at  the  bear's  head." —  Page  69. 


TREED  BY  A   BEAR.  69 

volver  was  safe  in  his  hip-pocket,  that  he 
determined  to  try  what  virtue  there  was  in 
a  pistol-bullet. 

Taking  good  aim,  he  fired  at  the  bear's  head, 
and  had  the  satisfaction  of  believing  that  he 
had  made  a  good  shot. 

Bruin  brushed  his  head  with  his  paw,  as  he 
might  have  done  if  a  gadfly  had  stung  him,  and 
looked  up  reproachfully  at  Ben,  as  if  to  tell 
him  that  he  was  trying  to  impose  on  good- 
nature, and  had  better  go  slow. 

Ben  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  waste 
any  more  shots  in  that  way,  as  he  had  no 
cartridges  with  him  except  those  in  the  revol- 
ver, and  those  might  be  serviceable  to  him  at 
close  quarters. 

The  bear  walked  back  to  where  the  chub  had 
been  thrown  upon  the  grass,  and  proceeded  to 
finish  his  meal. 

He  was  still  too  close  to  the  tree  to  give  Ben 
a  chance  to  escape,  and  when  he  had  finished 
the  chub  he  came  and  took  a  squint  at  his 


70  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

victim,  perhaps  to  see  whether  he  was  about 
ready  to  drop. 

Then  he  strolled  to  the  camp,  which  was  but 
a  little  distance  from  the  tree,  and  began  to 
inspect  the  articles  that  were  lying  about  there. 

The  canned  provisions  puzzled  him,  and  he 
rolled  them  over  with  his  paws,  as  if  wondering 
what  they  were  there  for ;  but  he  found  here 
and  there  something  that  he  could  get  at,  and 
tasted  of  everything  impartially. 

What  he  could  not  eat  he  tore  to  pieces,  if 
it  was  tearable,  finishing  with  a  woollen  shirt 
which  Ben  had  hung  up  to  dry,  and  which  was 
quickly  rent  in  fragments. 

This  made  Ben  terribly  angry ;  but  he  was 
helpless  in  his  wrath,  and  could  only  talk, 
discharging  at  the  bear  the  harshest  epithets 
he  could  think  of. 

For  this,  Master  Brum  cared  nothing  at 
all,  as  his  mind  was  on  mischief  bent,  and 
no  angry  words  could  keep  him  from  having 
his  fling. 


TREED  BY  A   BEAR.  ji 

He  returned  to  the  tree,  looked  up  at  his 
prisoner,  as  if  wondering  what  kept  him 
there  so  long,  seated  himself  on  his  haunches, 
and  licked  his  chops. 

The  prisoner,  glad  of  a  chance  to  vent 
his  spite  on  the  shaggy  brute,  let  fly  at  him 
with  another  barrel  of  his  revolver,  and  had 
better  luck  this  time,  the  bullet  striking  the 
bear  on  the  nose  and  penetrating  the  car- 
tilage. 

Bruin  howled  at  this,  as  it  was  adding  in- 
jury to  insult. 

He  howled  with  pain,  rubbed  his  nose 
with  his  paws,  and  stamped  around  and 
around  the  tamarack-tree,  grabbing  it  now  and 
then,  as  if  he  meant  to  shake  the  pestilent 
young  fellow  out  of  it. 

This  performance  gave  Ben  some  satisfac- 
tion ;  but  he  was  getting  weary,  as  it  was  a 
tiresome  thing  to  keep  his  perch  on  the  tree. 

He  changed  his  position  now  and  then,  and 
this  was  a  relief,  but  not  a  rest. 


72  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

As  the  day  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and 
the  sun  had  already  gone  out  of  sight  be- 
hind the  trees,  it  was  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  his  comrades  would  soon  be  returning 
to  camp,  and  he  could  only  hope  that  they 
would  come  before  he  should  be  tired  enough 
to  drop  down  to  the  waiting  bear. 

It  was  fully  sunset  when  he  heard  their 
welcome  voices. 

They  were  surprised  at  finding  no  camp- 
fire  burning,  as  it  should  have  been  lighted 
before  that  hour,  and  they  began  calling 
vigorously  for  Ben. 

"  Look  out,  there  ! "  shouted  the  lad  from 
his  perch.  "There  is  a  bear  here,  and  he 
has  got  me  treed." 

Louis  and  Harry  had  not  had  very  good 
luck  with  their  hunting,  having  shot  only 
two  partridges  and  a  duck;  but  they  were 
tired  and  hungry. 

At  the  sound  of  Ben's  warning  voice,  they 
dropped  their  game,  and  prepared  for  action. 


TREED  BY  A   BEAR.  73 

"All  risfht.    Ben!"    answered    Louis.     "We 

o         ' 

two   are   enough   for  one   bear." 

The  bear  heard  them,  and  got  on  his  feet 
to  face  his  new  antagonists,  growling  as  he 
walked  slowly  toward  them. 

"You  may  have  the  first  shot,  Harry," 
said  the  guide,  "  and  you  want  to  hit  him 
in  the  breast,  just  above  the  leg.  If  you 
shoot  as  well  as  you  did  when  you  killed 
the  owl,  it  will  be  bad  for  the  bear." 

This  was  highly  encouraging  to  Harry, 
who  dropped  on  one  knee  in  sportsman-like 
style,  so  that  he  could  get  a  good  aim  at 
the  big  brute. 

The  bear  seemed  to  be  reluctant  to  leave 
the  boy  in  the  tamarack-tree  ;  but  he  growled 
and  began  to  trot  when  he  caught  sight  of 
the  others,  doubtless  believing  that  two  birds 
in  the  hand  were  worth  one  in  the  bush. 

Harry  kept  his  position  so  long,  and  the 
beast  got  so  close  to  him,  that  Louis  was 
apprehensive  for  him,  and  would  have  ordered 


74  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

him  to  fire  but  for  the  fear  of  disturbing 
his  aim. 

At   last  he  fired,  and   the   bear   dropped. 

Harry's  shot  had  broken  his  left  fore-leg; 
but  he  got  up  immediately,  and  came  forward 
on  three  legs  about  as  fast  as  on  four. 

The  lad,  who  had  not  stirred  from  his 
position,  gave  him  the  contents  of  the  other 
barrel. 

Though  it  was  only  loaded  with  duck-shot, 
the  charge  seemed  to  go  to  the  right  place, 
as  Master  Bruin  tumbled  over  again,  and 
did  not  appear  to  be  able  to  get  up  any 
more. 

Harry  arose  quickly  and  ran  to  the  bear, 
drawing  his  revolver. 

Without  giving  the  least  heed  to  the  snap- 
ping and  pawing  of  the  beast,  he  fired  a  shot 
into  one  of  the  bear's  eyes,  which  settled  the 
case. 

Bruin  kicked  and  struggled  a  little  longer  ; 
but  his  career  in  this  world  was  closed. 


TREED  BY  A  BEAR.  75 

"  Hurrah  !  "  shouted  Ben,  who  had  climbed 
down  from  the  tamarack-tree,  and  had  run  to 
meet  his  friends.  "  Hurrah  for  Harry  !  " 

Louis  Hameau,  who  had  looked  on  admir- 
ingly while  he  allowed  Harry  to  finish  his 
work  without  interference,  was  loud  in  praise 
of  his  young  pupil. 

"  Indeed  it's  hurrah  for  Harry,"  said  he.  "  I 
don't  want  to  see  any  better  work  done  by  the 
oldest  and  smartest  hunter  that  was  ever  in 
these  woods." 

"  That's  so,"  assented  Ben.  "  Harry  has 
killed  the  biggest  kind  of  a  jabberwock  now, 
and  he  did  it  all  himself  too,  and  he  has  got  a 
fine  bear-skin  and  plenty  of  meat." 

"  Yes,  he  did  it  alone,  and  nobody  could  do 
a  cooler  and  nervier  piece  of  work.  I  was  here, 
of  course,  and  was  expectin'  to  have  the  job  to 
finish ;  but  I  saw  that  Harry  was  enough  for 
that  bear,  and  all  the  credit  is  his." 

Ben  and  Harry  hastened  to  build  a  fire  and 
prepare  supper,  while  Louis  skinned  the  bear 


76  THE  SEARCH  FOR   THE  STAR. 

and  cut  off  such  portions  of  the  meat  as  they 
cared  to  keep. 

The  hide  was  salted  until  it  could  be  prop- 
erly prepared,  and  the  meat  was  hung  up  out 
of  the  reach  of  prowling  animals,  and  the  three 
comrades  sat  down  to  a  capital  supper,  as  the 
game  and  Ben's  trout  had  given  them  a  great 
abundance. 

Of  course,  the  laugh  was  on  Ben  when  he  had 
told  how  he  was  treed  by  the  bear  ;  but  he  was 
firmly  of  the  opinion  that  all's  well  that  ends 
well,  and  insisted  that  the  bear  had  got  the 
butt  end  of  the  joke. 

The  next  morning,  as  Louis  said  that  there 
was  a  beautiful  lake  at  the  head  of  the  "  Pony," 
they  loaded  their  canoe  and  started  up  the 
little  river. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    HUNTERS    HUNTED. 

IT  proved  to  be  a  rather  difficult  task  to  work 
the  canoe  up  the  "  Pony,"  as  the  stream  was 
so  low  that  it  was  occasionally  found  necessary 
to  get  out  and  lift  her  over  the  shallows  and 
"riffles." 

"  How  are  we  going  to  get  back,  Louis  ? " 
inquired  Ben. 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  easy  enough.  It  is  bound 
to  rain  before  long,  and  when  there  comes  a 
good  shower,  that  swells  the  river,  we'll  jest 
slip  out." 

The  lads  felt  that  they  were  more  than  repaid 
for  the  toilsome  and  tedious  trip  by  what  they 
found  at  the  head  of  the  river. 

This  was  a  large  lake,  nearly  circular, 
gemmed  by  two  beautiful  islands  near  the 

77 


78      THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

middle  of  the  water,  its  banks  low  and  heavily 
timbered,  and  an  abundance  of  lily-pads  floating 
on  the  surface  near  the  shore. 

"The  moose  and  caribou  come  here,"  said 
Louis,  "to  feed  on  the  lily-pads,  and  we  may 
get  a  shot  at  one  before  long." 

To  get  a  chance  at  the  big  game  of  the  forest 
was,  of  course,  the  ambition  of  the  boys  ;  but 
there  was  more  than  that  to  put  them  in  love 
with  the  place,  as  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
anywhere  a  better  camping-ground  for  hunting 
and  fishing  purposes. 

It  was  easy  to  select  a  location,  and  in  a 
little  while  they  were  comfortably  and  pleas- 
antly established  and  ready  for  business. 

Louis  had  told  them  that  there  were  plenty 
of  fish  in  the  lake,  and  only  a  few  glances  at  its 
placid  expanse  were  needed  to  convince  them 
that  he  had  spoken  truly. 

By  this  time  they  had  got  well  on  into  the 
fall,  and  the  nights  were  becoming  cold  and  the 
days  cool ;  but  during  several  hours  of  the  day, 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED.  79 

when  the  sun  was  shining,  big  pickerel  came 
up  to  the  surface,  and  lay  there,  motionless  or 
nearly  so,  with  their  dark  backs  out  of  the 
water,  basking  in  the  sunshine,  and  supposed 
to  be  asleep. 

Louis  went  into  the  woods  and  cut  long  poles, 
the  tallest  and  slimmest  young  pines  he  could 
find,  peeled  them,  and  attached  lines  to  them. 

To  the  lines  he  fastened  slipnooses  of  small 
brass  wire,  such  as  was  used  for  wrapping  pick- 
erel-lines, and  the  tackle  was  complete. 

He  showed  the  boys  how  to  snare  the  fish, 
by  dropping  a  slipnoose  into  the  water  just 
ahead  of  a  sleeping  pickerel,  gently  insinuating 
it  over  his  nose  until  it  reached  the  end  of  his 
long  body,  and  then  jerking  him  up  and  land- 
ing him  on  the  shore. 

At  first  the  boys  enjoyed  this  style  of  fishing, 
which  was  novel  to  them  ;  but  they  soon  tired 
of  it,  because  the  poles,  being  unseasoned, 
were  too  heavy  for  comfortable  use. 

What  pleased  them  better  was  the  night  fish- 


80  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

ing,  not  only  because  it  was  a  new  wrinkle,  but 
because  it  was  easier  than  the  snaring  scheme. 

A  fire  of  the  "fattest"  pine-knots  that  could 
be  procured  was  built  in  the  camp-kettle,  which 
was  set  in  an  end  of  the  canoe,  and  they  pad- 
dled out  into  the  lake,  where  a  stone  was 
dropped  for  an  anchor. 

By  this  time  the  fire  was  burning  brightly, 
sending  its  light  far  over  the  glassy  surface  of 
the  water. 

"  The  light  will  draw  the  fish,"  explained 
Louis,  "and  then  we'll  scoop  'em  in." 

The  boys  could  not  wonder  at  this,  as  they 
were  themselves  strongly  attracted  by  the 
beauty  and  strangeness  of  the  scene,  no  less 
than  by  the  promise  of  splendid  sport. 

With  light  rods  they  threw  out  long  lines, 
attached  to  which  were  guarded  hooks,  baited 
with  bear-meat,  and  skipped  the  hooks  over  the 
surface  of  the  water. 

This  was  a  species  of  trolling  which  proved 
very  effective. 


THE   HUNTERS  HUNTED.  gl 

The  greedy  fish,  drawn  to  the  spot  by  the 
light,  fairly  jumped  out  of  the  water  in  their 
eagerness  to  seize  the  bait,  and  sometimes  no 
little  strength  was  required  to  pull  them  in 
when  they  started  off  with  the  hooks. 

Ben  and  Harry,  when  they  had  caught  the 
knack  of  properly  skipping  their  bait,  were 
vastly  pleased  with  this  exciting  sport,  and  the 
guide  was  successful  from  the  start. 

It  seemed  to  them  that  they  might  have 
filled  the  canoe  with  the  big  and  beautiful  fish ; 
but  they  considered  it  a  sin  to  kill  more  than 
they  could  use,  and  therefore  they  quitted 
when  they  had  secured  plenty  of  fish,  though 
not  enough  fun. 

When  they  got  back  to  camp,  although  their 
supper  had  been  good  and  sufficient,  they 
insisted  upon  cooking  some  of  the  fresh  fish 
for  a  late  supper,  and  proceeded  to  do  so,  one 
of  them  frying  a  few,  while  the  others  cleaned 
and  cared  for  the  rest. 

They  enjoyed  the  late  meal  greatly,  declaring 


82  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

that  they  had  never  tasted  sweeter  fish,  and 
that  they  wanted  nothing  better  than  to  spend 
as  much  time  as  possible  right  there. 

When  they  had  finished  eating,  Louis  filled 
and  lighted  his  beloved  pipe,  and  Ben,  whose 
turn  it  was  to  do  the  drudgery,  cleared  up  the 
camp. 

The  moon  had  risen,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
night  prompted  them  to  sit  up  after  their  usual 
hour  for  retiring. 

While  they  were  thus  engaged,  and  Harry 
was  nearly  ready  to  drop  into  a  doze,  a 
shrill,  wailing  cry,  almost  terrifying  in  its 
wildness  and  weirdness,  came  from  the  forest 
near  by. 

"  There's  another  jabberwock,  Harry,"  said 
Ben,  as  he  punched  his  cousin  in  the  ribs  to 
arouse  him. 

"All  right,"  sleepily  answered  Harry;  "but 
I'm  not  hunting  any  more  owls." 

In  a  few  moments  the  cry  was  repeated,  this 
time  nearer  at  hand,  and  Louis  jumped  up. 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED.  83 

"  That's  no  owl !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  seized 
his  rifle. 

"  What  is  it,  then  ? "  demanded  Ben. 

"It's  a  wild-cat  this  time,  sure  enough,  and 
there's  plenty  o'  difference  between  his  yell 
and  the  scream  of  a  scritch-owl.  I'm  glad 
the  moon  is  shinin',  so's  we  can  have  a  chance 
to  see  the  critter  afore  he  gits  to  us." 

Wild-cats,  like  others  of  the  feline  species, 
are  very  fond  of  fish,  though  they  will  not  ven- 
ture into  the  water  to  get  them,  and  this  beast 
had  probably  been  attracted  by  the  smell  of  the 
fish  that  were  cooking,  if  not  by  that  of  the 
uncooked  fish. 

Ben  and  Harry  also  grabbed  their  guns. 

Louis  took  a  position  where  there  was  an 
open  space  in  front  of  him  toward  the  forest, 
and  made  the  boys  stand  behind  him. 

Again  the  yell  was  heard,  much  nearer  than 
before,  and  this  time  it  was  such  a  savage  and 
blood-curdling  screech  that  Harry  was  ready 
to  declare  that  he  would  never  again  mis- 


84  THE  SEARCH  FOR   THE  STAR. 

take  the  scream  of  an  owl  for  the  cry  of  a 
wild-cat. 

But  neither  of  the  boys  said  anything,  as 
they  believed  that  they  were  about  to  face  a 
real  peril. 

"Stand  back  a  little,"  ordered  Louis. 
"  Here  he  comes  !  " 

The  boys  fell  back  a  few  steps  only,  and 
strained  their  eyes  to  see  what  it  was  that  was 
coming. 

What  they  saw  was  a  long  and  lithe  body, 
dark,  and  apparently  tawny,  approaching  them 
from  the  depths  of  the  forest  with  long  and 
graceful  bounds,  accompanying  its  progress 
with  a  peculiarly  vicious  snarl. 

Louis  brought  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  and 
fired  at  the  beast. 

"  Missed  him,  by  the  horn  spoon ! "  he 
exclaimed,  as  he  hastily  began  to  recharge 
his  rifle. 

But  he  had  not  missed  him,  as  the  cat  was 
rolling  over  on  the  ground,  as  if  wondering 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED.  85 

what  had  hurt  it,  and  uttering  a  series  of  wild 
and  savage  screeches. 

Ben  Halstead  stepped  forward  promptly,  and 
sent  into  the  writhing  body  a  bullet  that  ended 
its  usefulness  as  a  wild-cat,  though  it  did  not 
put  a  stop  to  its  struggles  or  screeches. 

The  next  moment  yell  after  yell  came  from 
the  forest,  and  a  person  of  excitable  imagina- 
tion would  have  been  ready  to  declare  that  the 
woods  were  full  of  wild-cats. 

There  were  enough  of  them,  indeed. 

Whether  attracted  by  the  scent  of  the  fish, 
or  by  the  yells  of  their  comrade,  they  seemed 
bent  upon  holding  a  wild-cat  convention  at  the 
camp  of  the  searchers  for  the  Star. 

Louis  gave  one  quick  but  comprehensive 
glance  at  the  coming  calamity,  and  turned  to 
fly. 

"  Into  the  water,  boys  !  "  he  shouted.  "  Into 
the  water !  That's  our  only  chance." 

It  was,  indeed,  their  only  chance,  as  two  of 
the  rifle-barrels  were  empty,  and  the  beasts 


86  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

would  have  been  too  many  for  the  party 
to  cope  with  if  all  their  weapons  had  been 
loaded. 

It  was  fortunate  that  the  guide  was  aware 
of  the  fact  that  a  wild-cat  is  extremely  averse 
to  water. 

Into  the  lake  the  three  comrades  ran,  until 
they  were  waist-deep  in  water,  when  they 
turned  and  looked  at  the  shore. 

The  congregation  of  wild-cats  which  they 
had  expected  proved  to  be  three  yelling  and 
snarling  brutes,  which  came  into  view  one 
after  another,  leaping  swiftly  forward,  graceful 
but  dangerous. 

They  ran  down  to  the  edge  of  the  lake,  but 
there  they  stopped,  as  the  water  presented  an 
effectual  barrier  to  their  progress,  and  snarled 
at  the  human  foes  out  of  their  reach. 

Harry  Russell  coolly  waded  toward  them, 
took  aim  at  the  nearest  of  the  brutes,  and 
fired. 

Again   he  vindicated   his  skill   as   a   marks- 


The  Hunters  Hunted.  — Page  86. 


THE  HUNTERS  HUNTED.  8/ 

man,  his  bullet  striking  the  wild-cat  in  the 
ear,  and  stretching  him  out  on  the  ground. 

The  others  yelled  with  rage  ;  but  nothing 
could  tempt  them  into  the  water. 

It  seemed  that  the  boys  were  to  have  the 
benefit  of  this  affair,  as  it  was  a  difficult  mat- 
ter for  Louis  to  load  his  rifle  where  he  stood, 
while  their  weapons  were  breech-loaders,  and 
they  carried  cartridges  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
wet. 

So  Ben  advanced  to  where  Harry  had 
stationed  himself,  and  they  loaded  and  fired 
until  another  of  the  wild-cats  was  dead,  and 
the  third,  badly  wounded,  went  off  howling. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

AN    UNINVITED    GUEST. 

THE  three  victors  waded  ashore  to  survey 
their  slaughtered  foes  and  dry  their  dripping 
garments. 

"  We  know  what  wild-cats  are  like  now," 
said  Harry. 

"And  we  have  made  a  hole  in  the  cat  popu- 
lation of  this  region,"  observed  Ben. 

"  You  both  did  well,"  said  Louis,  "  and  you 
had  nearly  all  the  fun  to  yourselves.  I  don't 
believe  you  will  see  anything  like  it  again,  as 
I  never  before  met  so  many  of  the  critters  at 
one  time.  So,  you  see,  it  is  something  to  brag 
about." 

"  I  didn't  feel  a  bit  like  bragging  when  they 
came  at  us,"  remarked  Ben. 

"  Well,  no,  nor  did  I,  and  it  was  lucky  for 
88 


AN  UNINVITED   GUEST.  89 

us  that  the  lake  was  there.  A  wild-cat  won't 
as  much  as  put  his  paws  in  water  if  he  can 
help  it." 

"  It  was  lucky  for  us  that  you  knew  that, 
Louis,  as  neither  Harry  nor  I  should  have 
thought  of  such  a  thing." 

The  camp-fire  was  built  up,  to  scare  off 
other  prowling  beasts,  and  the  searchers  lay 
down  to  take  the  sleep  that  was  so  sweet 
to  them,  in  spite  of  mosquitoes  and  other 
pests. 

The  next  morning,  while  Louis  and  Ben 
were  getting  the  bodies  of  the  wild-cats  out 
of  the  way,  and  generally  attending  to  matters 
about  the  camp,  Harry  went  on  a  fishing  ex- 
cursion of  his  own. 

There  was  no  objection  to  this,  as  he  was 
not  going  far  —  in  fact,  not  out  of  sight  of  his 
friends. 

He  paddled  the  canoe  to  a  point  of  land  at 
a  little  distance  from  the  camp,  where,  as 
there  was  an  absence  of  lily-pads,  the  water 


90  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

was  supposed  to  be  deep  and  suitable  for 
fishing. 

Grounding  one  end  of  the  canoe  on  the 
shore,  he  seated  himself  in  the  other  end,  and 
threw  out  his  line. 

His  luck  was  fair  at  first,  and  he  threw 
several  fine  fish  back  into  the  boat  as  he 
caught  them. 

After  a  while  they  quit  biting,  and  he  fell 
into  a  meditative  mood. 

As  his  back  was  toward  the  shore,  he  failed 
to  see  another  party,  —  not  exactly  a  person,  — 
who  trotted  down  the  beach  and  entered  the 
canoe. 

The  action  of  this  party  in  stepping  aboard 
of  the  canoe  detached  it  from  the  shore,  and 
set  it  afloat  on  the  lake. 

"What  are  you  doing  there?"  sharply  de- 
manded Harry,  naturally  supposing  that  one 
of  his  comrades  had  come  to  play  a  trick 
on  him. 

As  there  was  no  answer,  and  there  was  evi- 


"He  faced  about,  and  saw  the  party  who  had  entered."  — Page  91. 


AN  UNINVITED   GUEST.  9! 

dently  somebody  or  something  in  the  boat,  he 
faced  about,  and  saw  the  party  who  had  en- 
tered. 

It  was  a  brown  bear,  with  a  black  face  and  a 
decidedly  open  expression  of  countenance. 

He  had  seated  himself  in  his  end  of  the  boat, 
and  was  eying  first  the  fish  and  then  the  boy, 
as  if  doubtful  which  of  them  would  the  better 
suit  his  taste. 

As  he  sat  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  with  his 
big  red  tongue  lolling  out  of  his  mouth,  and  a 
hungry  expression  on  his  capacious  features,  he 
was  anything  but  an  agreeable  companion  ;  but 
he  was  clearly  the  master  of  the  situation,  and 
there  was  nobody  to  dispute  his  right  to  be 
there. 

"  The  dratted  bears  are  getting  the  best  of 
us  all  along  the  line,"  muttered  Harry. 

He  had  not  brought  his  gun,  and  if  it  had 
been  within  reach  he  would  not  have  cared  for 
a  collision  with  his  four-footed  companion  then 
and  there. 


92  THE  SEARCH  FOR   THE  STAR. 

He  was  willing  to  leave  the  canoe  in  the 
possession  of  his  uninvited  guest,  and  the  only 
question  was  whether  that  individual  would 
allow  him  to  get  away  quietly. 

When  the  bear  got  up  and  moved  to- 
ward him,  that  question  seemed  to  be  settled 
in  the  negative,  and  overboard  went  the 
boy. 

Master  Bruin  walked  to  the  end  of  the  canoe, 
which  Harry  had  just  vacated,  and  looked  over 
the  side  after  him,  as  if  doubtful  whether  he 
had  better  follow  him  ;  but  the  fish  proved  a 
stronger  attraction,  and  he  began  to  pick  them 
up  and  eat  them. 

The  canoe,  aided  by  a  light  land-breeze,  had 
by  this  time  moved  a  couple  of .  rods  from  the 
shore. 

Fortunately,  Harry  was  a  good  swimmer,  and 
could  easily  make  his  way  through  the  water, 
though  encumbered  by  his  clothes. 

In  a  few  minutes  he  reached  the  shore, 
and  ran  to  the  camp,  where  his  appearance, 


AN  UNINVITED  GUEST.  93 

dripping  with  water,  created  a  decided  sen- 
sation. 

"What's  the  matter,  Harry?"  demanded 
Ben.  "  Have  you  upset  the  canoe  ?  " 

"No,  I  upset  myself." 

"  How  did  that  happen  ? " 

"  Another  gentleman  got  in  —  a  four-footed 
gentleman,  with  a  heavy  brown  coat.  As  there 
didn't  seem  to  be  room  enough  for  both  of  us, 
and  he  was  bigger  than  I,  I  invited  myself  to 
leave." 

"What  do  you  mean,  anyhow ?  " 

"  There  is  the  canoe,  and  he  is  in  it.  You 
can  see  for  yourself." 

Ben  saw  the  boat  drifting  out  into  the  lake, 
with  a  bear  sitting  up  on  the  bottom,  helping 
himself  to  the  fish  that  Harry  had  caught,  and 
he  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"  So  you  have  had  your  turn,  too,  at  being 
treed  by  a  bear,"  he  cried. 

"  Yes,  and  it  didn't  seem  a  bit  funny  to  me, 
either,"  answered  Harry. 


94  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

The  bears  and  the  wild-cats  about  here  seem 
to  have  a  special  spite  against  us ;  but  this  is 
the  best  joke  we  have  struck  yet." 

"  Seems  to  me,  Ben,  that  it  is  a  better  joke 
for  the  bear  than  for  us.  How  are  we  going  to 
get  our  boat  back  ?  " 

This  was  a  serious  question,  as  they  could 
not  think  of  swimming  out  to  encounter  the 
bear,  and  they  had  no  other  means  of  getting 
at  him. 

"  Perhaps  he  will  get  tired  of  staying  there 
after  a  while,  and  will  jump  overboard,"  sug- 
gested Ben. 

"That  ain't  a  bit  likely,"  remarked  the 
guide.  "  The  chances  are  that  he'll  stay  there 
until  the  canoe  drifts  ashore  somewhere,  unless 
he  gets  a  wrathy  fit  on  and  tears  it  to  flinders. 
That's  what  we've  got  to  be  afeard  of." 

"  What  can  we  do  about  our  boat,  then  ?" 

"  There's  only  one  thing  to  do.  We  must 
build  a  raft  as  soon  as  we  can,  and  hunt  the 
bear." 


AN  UNINVITED   GUEST.  95 

"  That's  the  ticket ! "  exclaimed  Ben.  "  Let's 
get  at  it  right  away,  and  pretty  soon  we  will 
have  a  naval  battle." 

Axes  and  hatchets  were  quickly  brought  into 
use,  and  Louis  selected  a  couple  of  straight 
and  tall  pine-trees,  near  the  water's  edge,  both 
of  which  he  felled,  and  Harry  trimmed  off  the 
branches  while  the  other  two  cut  the  trees  into 
lengths. 

The  larger  lengths  were  rolled  into  the 
water,  and  fastened  together  by  the  use  of 
withes. 

Then  another  tier  was  similarly  made  of  the 
smaller  lengths,  and  the  raft  was  complete. 

A  couple  of  poles  were  cut  and  trimmed,  and 
the  three  comrades  boarded  the  raft  with  their 
guns  and  an  axe. 

They  had  been  working  as  fast  as  possible, 
being  so  closely  occupied  by  their  employment 
that  they  had  not  given  much  attention  to  the 
boat  and  the  bear ;  but  they  had  a  good  view 
of  both  when  they  shoved  away  from  the  shore. 


96  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Master  Bruin  was  still  the  captain  of  the 
canoe,  but  was  apparently  not  well  pleased 
with  his  situation  and  surroundings. 

After  drifting  near  to  one  of  the  islands,  the 
boat  had  encountered  a  breeze  from  the  other 
side,  which  sent  it  back  toward  the  shore  from 
which  it  had  come. 

The  bear  finished  Harry's  fish,  paced  from 
end  to  end  of  the  canoe  until  he  contracted 
a  disgust  for  the  limited  extent  of  the  establish- 
ment, and  then  turned  his  attention  to  an  in- 
vestigation of  the  craft. 

Scarcely  any  animal  besides  a  monkey  is 
more  mischievous  than  a  bear,  and  curiosity  is 
one  of  the  strongest  characteristics  of  his  na- 
ture. This  is  what  causes  him  to  make  trouble 
for  two-legged  people,  and  occasionally  gets 
himself  into  trouble. 

Fortunately  nothing  had  been  left  in  the 
canoe  but  the  paddles  and  the  seats,  which  the 
bear  examined  at  his  leisure,  pawing  and  biting 
them,  and  finally  tossing  them  overboard. 


AN  UNINVITED  GUEST.  97 

He  had  finished  this  employment,  and  was 
suspected  of  an  intention  to  begin  work  on 
the  structure  of  the  canoe,  when  the  raft  bore 
down  upon  him. 

As  the  lake  was  shallow,  — though  there 
were  deep  holes  in  some  parts,  —  it  was  easy 
enough  to  pole  the  raft  to  the  canoe,  and  the 
polers  made  short  work  of  the  job. 

When  the  bear  caught  sight  of  this  cum- 
brous ship-of-war,  it  distracted  his  attention 
from  the  idea  of  demolishing  the  canoe,  and 
he  put  his  paws  on  the  little  deck  at  one  end 
of  his  own  vessel,  and  took  a  good  look  at.  the 
raft. 

Of  course,  he  did  not  know  what  to  make  of 
it ;  but  the  two-legged  animals  on  it  raised  his 
wrath,  and  he  growled  and  showed  his  teeth, 
looking  over  into  the  water  now  and  then,  as  if 
he  would  like  to  jump  in  and  get  at  them. 

"What  would  we  do,  Louis,  if  he  should  go 
overboard  and  swim  for  us  ?  "  inquired  Ben. 

"  I  wouldn't  ask  a  better  chance  than  that. 


g8  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR, 

I  could  split  his  head  open  with  an  axe  as  soon 
as  he  tried  to  climb  up  on  the  raft." 

Before  the  bear  could  determine  on  any  such 
plan  of  action,  the  raft  was  within  a  few  yards 
of  him,  near  enough  for  the  engagement  to 
begin. 

Louis  thrust  his  pole  down  into  the  mud  as 
an  anchor,  and  asked  Harry  to  hold  to  it. 

"  This  ought  to  be  Ben's  bear,  Harry,"  said 
he,  "  as  you  had  the  other,  and  we  must  give 
him  a  chance  at  it.  But  we  want  to  make  a 
sure  thing  of  the  critter,  to  keep  him  from 
wreckin'  the  canoe,  and  so  we  will  both  fire 
together." 

Ben  and  the  guide  knelt  on  the  side  of  the 
raft  next  to  the  canoe,  facing  the  bear,  and 
they  could  not  have  asked  a  better  mark,  as 
the  big  brute  raised  his  head  and  looked  at 
them  savagely  and  longingly. 

Louis  gave  his  young  comrade  directions  for 
taking  aim,  and  at  the  word  they  fired  together. 

The  double  discharge  seemed  to  drive   the 


AN  UNINVITED   GUEST.  99 

beast  backward,  and  he  fell  over  into  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  with  his  paws  in  the  air. 

"Pole  up  to  the  canoe  quick,  boys !  "  shouted 
the  guide,  as  he  seized  the  axe  and  made  ready 
to  finish  the  work. 

It  did  not  need  any  finishing,  as  Bruin  had 
been  struck  in  a  vital  part  of  his  body,  and  he 
was  breathing  his  last  when  they  reached  him, 
flooding  the  boat  with  his  blood. 

The  canoe  was  attached  to  the  raft,  which 
was  poled  about  rnitil  the  paddles  and  seats 
were  picked  up,  and  the  whole  outfit  went 
ashore,  where  the  canoe  was  cleaned,  and  the 
raft  was  made  fast  for  further  possible  use. 

Thus  the  searchers  added  another  skin  to 
their  trophies,  and  secured  a  plentiful  supply 
of  bear-meat. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

BRIGHT   EYES   AND    BIG   ANTLERS. 

THE  day  passed  without  any  further  events 
worth  noticing,  and  at  night  Louis  found  a  new 
use  for  the  raft. 

"  We'H  have  a  still-hunt  at  night,"  said  he, 
"a  still-hunt  on  the  water." 

The  boys  knew  what  a  still-hunt  meant,  but 
they  did  not  understand  what  the  guide  pro- 
posed to  do. 

"  I  don't  see  how  we  can  still-hunt  anything 
on  the  water,"  observed  Ben,  "  unless  it  is 
pickerel,  and  I  gues^  we  have  had  enough  of 
that." 

"Didn't  I  tell  you,"  replied"  Louis,  "that 
moose  and  caribou  come  to  this  lake  sometimes, 
to  feed  on  the  lily-pads,  and  that  we  might  get 
a  shot  at  'em  ?  There's  deer  about  the  shores, 
too." 


BRIGHT  EYES  AND  BIG  ANTLERS.        IOI 

"That's  the  scheme,"  put  in  Harry.  "The 
game  is  supposed  to  be  on  the  shore  or  near 
it,  and  we  are  to  still-hunt  it  on  the  water." 

"  Jest  so.  You're  a  born  hunter,  Harry,  and 
no  mistake." 

"  I  have  believed  that  ever  since  Harry  shot 
the  jabberwock,"  observed  Ben,  who  felt  some 
little  touches  of  envy  at  the  praise  that  had 
been  given  his  cousin. 

His  envy,  however,  was  of  small  amount  and 
short  duration,  and  he  gladly  accepted  the  idea 
of  the  still-hunt. 

The  camp-kettle  was  filled  with  resinous 
pine,  as  it  had  been  when  the  pickerel  were 
caught  at  night,  but  was  set  on  the  raft  instead 
of  the  canoe,  and  the  clumsy  machine  was 
poled  to  the  northern  end  of  the  lake,  which 
it  had  been  agreed  to  call  the  upper  end,  the 
raft  being  used  because  it  gave  the  party  better 
room  to  "  spread  themselves,"  with  an  equal 
chance  for  each  when  it  came  to  shooting. 

It   was    halted   where    there   was   an   open- 


102  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

ing  in  the  lily-pads,  and  a  current  of  water 
flowing  into  the  lake  gave  token  of  a  stream 
that  emptied  there. 

Harry  mentioned  this  probability,  and  Louis 
agreed  with  him. 

"  Yes,  I  guess  there's  a  creek  there,"  as- 
sented the  guide.  "We  can't  see  it,  as  it's 
hid  by  the  bushes ;  but  it's  bound  to  be 
there." 

The  raft  was  halted  near  the  presumed 
creek  by  thrusting  the  setting-poles  between 
the  logs  into  the  mud,  and  was  quite  firm 
in  that  position. 

At  the  same  time  the  fire  was  brightened, 
the  idea  being  that  the  light  would  attract  any 
moose  or  deer  that  might  be  straying  about, 
and  bring  the  inquisitive  creatures  within  rifle- 
range. 

When  they  were  ready  there  was  a  long 
wait  for  business,  and  the  boys  began  to  grow 
restless  and  uneasy,  though  Louis  explained  to 
them  that  still-hunting  was  a  matter  of  wait- 


BRIGHT  EYES  AND  BIG  ANTLERS.        IC>3 

ing,  that  hunters  often  passed  hours  in  one 
position,  a-nd  that  the  game  was  well  worth 
waiting  for. 

They  waited  an  hour,  which  they  counted  as 
more  than  two  hours,  and  as  by  that  time  they 
had  sighted  no  game,  they  were  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted with  still-hunting. 

Harry  had  just  proposed  that  they  should 
"  pull  up  stakes  "  and  go  back  to  camp  when 
Ben  eagerly  grasped  and  raised  his  gun. 

"  Be  quiet,"  he  whispered  ;  "  I  see  a  deer." 

"  Where  ?  "  whispered  Harry. 

"Don't  you  see  his  bright  eyes  shining 
through  the  bushes  there  ?  Be  quiet,  and  give 
me  a  chance." 

Ben  had  brought  his  gun  to  his  shoulder 
when  his  cousin  suddenly  jerked  him  back. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  don't  shoot ! "  cried 
Harry.  "That  is  no  deer." 

"  What  is  it,  then  ?  "  grumbled  Ben. 

What  it  was  was  quickly  made  evident  when 
a  canoe  came  in  sight,  shooting  out  from  under 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

the  bushes — a  real  birch-bark  canoe,  of  Indian 
manufacture,  such  as  the  boys  had  not  often 
seen  before. 

In  the  canoe  was  seated  a  young  woman,  an 
unquestionable  Indian  girl,  whose  paddle  was 
urging  it  forward,  and  whose  bright  eyes  Ben 
had  mistaken  for  those  of  a  deer. 

"  I  told  you  that  Harry  is  a  born  hunter," 
exclaimed  the  guide.  "  I  don't  want  anybody 
to  see  better  or  shoot  straighter  than  he 
can." 

"  Don't  tell  her  that  I  wanted  to  shoot  her," 
whispered  Ben  to  Harry. 

The  Indian  girl,  who  was  quite  unaware  of 
the  fact  that  a  gun  had  been  aimed  at  her,  pad- 
dled her  canoe  to  the  raft,  where  she  halted 
and  introduced  herself  in  a  friendly  way. 

She  was  neither  good-looking  nor  bad-look- 
ing, though  her  face  was  rather  attractive,  and 
she  was  not  attired  in  the  traditional  Indian 
costume  of  fringed  buckskin  and  feathers  and 
beads,  but  in  an  odd  mixture  of  the  styles  of 


BRIGHT  EYES  AND   BIG  ANTLERS.       IOt; 

Indians  and  white  people,  which  did  not  in 
the  least  improve  her  appearance. 

Her  name  was  Seetuckey,  —  which  Ben  Hal- 
stead,  being  given  to  that  kind  of  thing,  immedi- 
ately translated  into  Sweet  Ducky,  —  and  she 
lived  near  by,  a  little  way  up  the  creek,  with 
her  father  and  brother. 

She  gave  her  father's  Indian  name,  which  not 
even  Ben  could  make  anything  out  of,  and  she 
added  that  he  was  known  among  the  white  peo- 
ple as  Red  Jim,  and  that  her  brother  was 
named  Santan. 

The  family  was  a  relic  of  the  nearly  extinct 
Sebois  tribe  of  Indians,  and  the  father  and  son 
got  their  living  by  hunting  and  fishing,  by  act- 
ing as  guides  for  white  hunters  and  excursion- 
ists, and  by  working  with  loggers  in  winter. 

They  had  become  aware  of  the  presence  of 
the  white  men's  camp  on  the  lake,  and  had 
intended  to  visit  them,  but  had  as  yet  been 
unable  to  do  so. 

The  searchers  sent  them,  through  Seetuckey, 


IO6  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

a  cordial  invitation  to  come  to  the  camp,  and 
the  girl  paddled  her  canoe  away  and  disap- 
peared in  the  bushes  that  covered  the  creek. 

Her  new  friends,  having  had  enough  of  still- 
hunting,  poled  the  raft  back  to  their  camp,  and 
went  to  sleep. 

Harry  Russell  had  been  so  highly  compli- 
mented upon  his  marksmanship  and  his 
general  ability  as  a  hunter  that  it  must  be 
confessed  that  he  had  become  a  little  vain 
though  he  was  careful  to  keep  his  vanity  to 
himself  as  well  as  he  could. 

The  morning  after  the  still-hunting  expedi- 
tion he  took  the  canoe  and  his  gun,  and  started 
to  make  a  tour  of  the  lake  on  his  own- account. 

In  spite  of  the  bad  luck  of  the  night  before, 
he  did  not  doubt  Louis'  statement  that  moose 
occasionally  came  to  the  lake  to  feed  on  the 
lily-pads,  and  if  he  could  strike  such  game  as 
that  he  would  ask  nothing  better. 

Paddling  around  the  lake  in  the  early  morn- 
ing, when  the  fresh  air  was  loaded  with  the 


BRIGHT  EYES  AND  BIG  ANTLERS.       IO/ 

balmy  odors  of  the  pine-woods,  was  very  pleas- 
ant and  exhilarating,  even  without  the  expecta- 
tion of  splendid  game. 

To  the  real  hunter  the  uncertainty  of  his 
pursuit  and  the  anticipation  of  what  he  may 
find  are  highly  exciting,  almost  as  much  so  as 
the  actual  encounter  with  the  winged  or  four- 
footed  prizes. 

Harry  urged  the  canoe  forward  slowly  and 
quietly,  just  at  the  edge  of  the  lily-pads,  keep- 
ing a  bright  lookout  for  what  he  hoped  to  find, 
and  at  the  same  time  keeping  his  gun  ready  at 
hand. 

He  passed  the  place  where  the  creek 
emptied  into  the  lake,  and  saw  the  opening 
more  plainly  than  at  night,  though  he  would 
scarcely  have  suspected  its  existence  if  he  had 
not  known  that  it  was  there. 

But  he  saw  nothing  else  there,  and  heard 
nothing  there  or  elsewhere,  except  the  singing 
and  chirping  of  the  birds,  until  he  reached  a 
point  nearly  opposite  to  the  camp. 


I08  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Then  he  heard  a  faint  sound  of  breathing  on 
the  land,  accompanied  by  the  breaking  of 
twigs,  and  he  stopped  the  canoe  and  gazed 
into  the  forest. 

In  a  few  moments  there  came  into  view, 
breaking  its  way  through  a  thicket,  the  largest 
and  noblest  animal  that  he  had  ever  seen. 

Though  he  had  never  seen  such  a  creature 
except  in  pictures,  he  knew  it  at  once  to  be  a 
moose,  and  a  bull-moose  at  that,  as  it  was 
much  too  large  for  a  deer,  and  its  spreading 
antlers  were  something  immense. 

Then  it  was  that  the  boy  had  to  take  a  firm 
grip  of  himself  to  hold  his  nerves. 

He  had  heard  of  the  "  buck  fever,"  and  was 
afraid  that  he  might  be  seized  by  it,  and  such  a 
seizure  would  render  him  incapable  of  shooting 
straight,  if  he  should  be  able  to  shoot  at  all. 

Therefore  he  exerted  his  will  to  the  utmost 
to  repress  his  eagerness  and  subdue  his  excite- 
ment, endeavoring  to  imagine  that  a  moose  was 
of  no  more  consequence  than  any  other  game, 


"The  moose  had  stepped  into  the  water."  —  Page  109. 


BRIGHT  EYES  AND  BIG  ANTLERS. 

and  that  it  mattered  little  whether  he  should 
hit  him  or  not. 

Of  course,  he  did  not  give  any  minutes  to 
these  thoughts,  as  he  had  no  time  for  thinking, 
and  the  occasion  demanded  instant  action. 

They  passed  through  his  head  like  a  flash, 
and  he  was  rejoiced  to  feel  that  he  was  rea- 
sonably cool  and  calm. 

The  moose  had  stepped  into  the  water  ;  but 
he  halted  when  he  caught  sight  of  the  lad  in 
the  canoe,  gazing  at  him  curiously  at  first,  and 
then  acting  as  if  he  wanted  to  make  fight. 

As  he  stood  there,  with  his  head  erect,  and 
shaking  his  branching  antlers,  he  was  a  splen- 
did sight,  and  offered  as  good  a  mark  as  the 
poorest  hunter  could  ask  for. 

Harry  did  not  give  him  time  to  make  up 
his  mind  to  fight  or  to  fly,  but  raised  his  gun 
at  once,  and  sent  the  contents  of  his  rifle- 
barrel  into  the  breast  of  the  moose. 

He  saw  the  blood  start,  and  knew  that  he 
had  hit  where  he  meant  to. 


HO     THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

The  moose  looked  as  if  he  was  surprised  at 
the  noise  and  the  hurt,  but  turned  instantly, 
and  bounded  back  into  the  forest. 

After  a  few  leaps  he  fell  over  on  his  side. 

Believing  that  he  had  made  a  fortunate  shot, 
and  had  killed  or  fatally  wounded  the  animal, 
Harry  shoved  another  cartridge  into  his  rifle- 
barrel,  paddled  the  canoe  to  the  shore,  hastily 
beached  it  there,  and  ran  to  where  his  game 
was  lying  under  the  trees. 

The  noble  creature  was  so  quiet  that  the 
lad  was  sure  that  he  had  ended  its  existence. 

Either  he  had  been  very  lucky,  or  the 
stories  he  had  heard  about  the  difficulty  of 
killing  a  moose  were  nothing  but  "  yarns." 

Wishing  to  finish  his  work  in  a  sportsman- 
like manner,  he  drew  his  knife,  carrying  his 
gun  in  his  left  hand,  and  eagerly  knelt  down 
to  cut  the  throat  of  his  game. 

Hardly  had  he  touched  the  hide  when  the 
moose  threw  him  off,  struggled  to  its  feet, 
and  attacked  him  savagely. 


CHAPTER  X. 
HARRY'S  BIG  PRIZE. 

HARRY  was  at  first  more  surprised  than 
hurt  at  the  sudden  and  vigorous  action  on 
the  part  of  the  creature  he  supposed  he  had 
killed,  and  was  also  at  first  not  aware  of  the 
extent  of  his  peril. 

His  knife  had  been  jerked  from  his  hand 
when  the  moose  flung  him  off ;  but  he  re- 
tained his  hold  of  his  rifle. 

He  also  retained,  or  quickly  regained,  his 
presence  of  mind,  jumping  up  instantly  and 
stepping  back. 

As  the  moose  sprang  toward  him,  striking 
at  him  viciously  with  its  fore-hoofs,  he  gave 
it  the  contents  of  his  rifle-barrel  again  ;  but 
this  only  had  the  effect  of  enraging  it  and 
changing  its  tactics. 


H2  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Lowering  its  head,  the  moose  charged  him 
like  a  mad  bull,  and  there  was  no  chance  to 
escape  its  headlong  rush. 

At  once  it  was  upon  him,  and  he  could 
only  grab  its  antlers  and  cling  to  them, 
drawing  himself  as  close  as  possible,  so  that 
he  should  not  be  overthrown  and  trampled 
upon ;  but  he  felt  that  his  efforts  must  be 
feeble  and  of  short  duration. 

Twice  the  infuriated  beast  had  flung  him 
up  and  down,  shaking  him  violently,  and  he 
was  almost  exhausted  when  a  rifle-shot  right 
at  hand  gave  him  fresh  courage  and  hope. 

The  moose,  startled  and  stung  again,  turned 
from  the  boy  to  face  its  new  antagonist ;  and 
Harry,  panting  hard,  but  still  steady  on  his 
feet,  also  glanced  in  that  direction. 

He  saw  a  young  man,  as  evidently  an 
Indian  as  Seetuckey,  dressed  partly  in  civil- 
ized garments  as  she  had  been,  and  at  once 
.jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  her 
brother,  Santan. 


HARRY'S  BIG  PRIZE.  u^ 

At  that  moment  the  Indian  held  in  his  hand 
a  smoking  rifle  ;  but  it  carried  only  one  load, 
and  he  had  not  time  to  get  out  of  the  way 
when  the  bull-moose  charged  him. 

He  could  only  drop  his  rifle  and  grasp  the 
antlers,  as  Harry  had  done. 

Harry  hastened  to  pick  up  his  gun  and  feed 
it  with  a  cartridge.  Then  he  ran  to  the  moose, 
and  sent  a  bullet  into  its  side,  just  back  of  the 
fore-shoulder,  the  muzzle  of  the  weapon  almost 
touching  the  hide. 

Even  this  had  no  effect  but  to  enrage  the 
big  beast,  and  the  lad  was  compelled  to  revise 
his  recent  opinion  concerning  the  easy  killing 
of  that  kind  of  game. 

Harry  again  hastened  to  reload ;  but  it 
seemed  that  the  Indian  must  surely  be 
overcome  before  anything  more  could  be 
done. 

Then  he  witnessed  a  singular  exploit. 

When  the  moose's  head  was  low,  Santati 
suddenly  sprang  between  the  spreading  antlers, 


1 14  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

and  landed  on  the  big  neck  of  the  monarch  of 
the  forest. 

Turning  quickly,  he  grasped  the  antlers  with 
both  hands,  clasped  his  legs  around  the  neck, 
and  defied  the  efforts  of  his  unruly  steed  to 
shake  him  off. 

With  a  snort  and  a  bellow,  the  moose  started 
off,  and  ran  through  the  forest,  the  Indian 
clinging  to  his  neck,  and  Harry  following  as 
fast  as  his  legs  would  carry  him. 

Under  spreading  branches,  against  big  trees, 
and  through  close  thickets  sped  the  wild  steed, 
but  without  dislodging  its  plucky  rider,  and 
the  hope  was  that  it  would  become  exhausted 
and  drop. 

It  was  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  with  four 
bullets  in  its  body,  its  career  could  not  last 
much  longer. 

After  running  about  half  a  mile,  it  came  to  a 
halt,  and  again  began  to  plunge  and  shake  its 
head  in  violent  but  weakening  efforts  to  rid 
itself  of  its  unwelcome  load.  . 


HARRY'S  BIG  PRIZE.  n$ 

Harry  came  up,  tired  and  breathless,  and 
had  just  strength  enough  to  thrust  the  muzzle 
of  his  gun  against  the  hide  and  send  another 
bullet  into  the  big  body. 

This  settled  the  question  in  favor  of  the  two- 
legged  fighters. 

The  moose  wavered,  staggered,  and  fell  over 
on  its  side. 

Santan  jumped  off  as  it  fell,  and  instantly 
severed  its  jugular  vein  with  his  sharp 
knife. 

The  contest  was  ended,  and  Harry  gazed 
proudly  at  the  noble  game  which  he  might 
fairly  claim  to  have  slaughtered. 

Then  he  held  out  his  hand  to  the  Indian,  who 
smiled  as  he  took  it. 

"I  know  you,"  said  Harry.  "That  is,  I 
know  who  you  are.  You  are  Seetuckey's 
brother,  and  your  name  is  Santan." 

The  Indian  grinned. 

"  You  have  helped  me  out  of  a  bad  scrape, 
and  I  want  to  thank  you." 


H6     THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

"  You  help  me  too,"  answered  Santan. 
"  Good  boy." 

"  But  you  are  a  real  smart  fellow,  and  a 
plucky  one,  too.  The  beast  would  have  killed 
me  if  you  hadn't  come  to  my  help." 

"  You  kiil  um  moose,"  insisted  Santan. 

"  I  began  it,  and  we  killed  him  together. 
He  is  as  much  yours  as  mine.  What  shall  we 
do  with  him  ?  I  only  want  the  head." 

In  fact,  the  first  sight  of  those  big  and 
branching  antlers  had  inspired  the  lad  with  an 
intense  desire  to  possess  them,  and  now  he  had 
got  them. 

He  could  not  have  a  better  trophy  to  carry 
home,  and  there  would  be  a  story  to  go  with 
them,  too. 

The  Indian  blew  a  whistle,  loud  and  shrill 
and  long. 

"  Mebbe  fader  come  now,"  he  said. 

Harry  and  his  new  friend  sat  down  to  rest, 
and  after  a  while  there  came  to  them  another 
Indian,  who  differed  little  from  Santan  except 


HARR  Y  'S  BIG  PRIZE.  i  j  7 

in  age,  and  who  would  have  been  pronounced 
a  fine-looking  man,  of  middle  age,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  his  queer  and  unsuitable  mixture  of 
clothing. 

This  was  Red  Jim,  who  was  made  acquainted 
with  Harry,  and  the  story  of  the  moose  was 
told  to  him. 

He  immediately  set  at  work  to  skin  the 
moose,  first  cutting  off  the  head,  and  with  the 
help  of  Santan  and  Harry  he  hung  the  game 
up  and  cleaned  it. 

Leaving  his  father  to  guard  the  meat,  Santan 
went  with  Harry  to  his  canoe,  the  former  car- 
rying the  head  of  the  moose,  and  the  latter  a 
portion  of  the  flesh. 

The  Indians  had  promised  to  visit  the  white 
men's  camp  soon,  and  to  bring  some  more  of 
the  moose-meat. 

It  would  have  been  hard  to  find  in  the  State 
of  Maine  a  prouder  boy  than  Harry  Russell 
was  when  he  paddled  the  canoe  over  to  the 
camp  and  beached  it. 


1 1  S  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Though  he  had  not  killed  the  moose  single- 
handed,  he  might  say  that  he  had  done  the 
greater  part  of  the  work,  and  his  conduct 
throughout  had  been  highly  creditable  to  him. 

His  comrades  came  down  to  meet  him,  and 
they  were  more  than  surprised  —  they  were 
amazed  —  at  the  sight  of  the  big  head  of  the 
moose,  with  its  immense  antlers. 

They  had  heard  firing  over  yonder,  and  sup- 
posed that  Harry  had  found  some  game ;  but 
they  had  never  looked  for  anything  like  what 
they  saw. 

Harry  told  with  a  reasonable  amount  of 
modesty  the  story  of  his  encounter  with  the 
moose,  giving  full  credit  to  Santan  for  his 
invaluable  assistance ;  but  this  did  not  stint 
the  praise  he  received,  especially  from  Louis. 

"  It's  settled  now,  and  there  can't  be  a  bit  of 
doubt  of  it,"  said  the  guide.  "  Harry  is  a  born 
hunter,  and  I've  got  a  good  right  to  brag  on 
him." 

"That's  so,"  exclaimed  Ben,  who  was  really 


HARRY'S  BIG  PRIZE. 

a  generous  and  large-minded  fellow.  "  Harry 
is  the  hunter  of  the  party,  and  I  can't  hold  a 
candle  to  him,  though  I  am  older  than  he.  I 
give  in,  and  won't  question  his  topnotchedness 
again.  I  shall  never  kill  anything  like  that 
moose  —  never,  never,  never.  I  should  never 
get  the  chance  even  if  I  should  know  how  to 
use  it  when  I  got  it." 

Louis  promised  to  prepare  the  moose's  head 
and  preserve  it  so  that  they  could  carry  or  send 
it  home  in  good  condition,  and  at  once  began 
work  on  it,  while  the  boys  stood  by  and 
admired  the  great  spread  of  its  branching 
antlers. 

In  the  evening,  Red  Jim  came  to  the  camp, 
accompanied  by  Santan  and  Seetuckey,  and 
the  campers  set  before  them  the  best  they  had 
in  the  way  of  provisions,  and  after  supper  three 
of  the  party  lighted  pipes,  and  there  was  a 
general  talk,  which  was  interesting  all  around. 

Santan,  being  pressed  to  tell  the  story  of  the 
encounter  with  the  moose,  made  more  of  it 


1 20  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR.   ' 

than  Harry  did,  or,  at  least,  made  more  of 
Harry's  performance,  convincing  the  lad's 
friends  that  he  had  not  exaggerated  his 
share  in  the  exploit. 

As  Louis  had  reason  to  believe  that  Bap- 
tiste  Lafonce  associated  more  or  less  with  the 
scattered  Indians  in  the  pine-woods  region,  he 
began  to  make  inquiries,  in  his  careful  way, 
about  Kanucks,  as  the  French  Canadians  were 
usually  styled. 

Red  Jim  and  Santan  had  met  plenty  of 
Kanucks, — more  than  they  cared  to  meet,  it 
seemed, — and  Louis  led  his  inquiries  up  to 
Baptiste. 

"  Plenty  Battees,"  answered  the  old  man, 
much  in  the  style  of  Hank  Martin;  "plenty 
Kanuck  Battees." 

The  guide  gave  a  description  of  the  Baptiste 
he  was  seeking;  but  it  was  not  easily  recog- 
nized. 

Seetuckey,  who  had  been  listening  closely  to 
the  conversation,  was  seized  by  an  idea. 


HARRY'S  BIG  PRIZE.  I2j 

"  Mebbe  he  mean,"  she  suggested,  "  the  Ka- 
nuck  with  the  star." 

"You're  a  trump,  Sweet  Ducky,"  exclaimed 
Ben.  "  That  is  likely  to  be  the  very  fellow  we 
want.  Is  his  name  Baptiste  ?  What  sort  of  a 
star  has  he  got  ? " 

"Name  Battees  —  mighty  bright  star  —  shiny 
stones  —  make  light  like  fire." 

Red  Jim  and  Santan  remembered  that  Bap- 
tiste, a  moody  and  solitary  man,  who  did  not 
seek  the  society  of  his  fellow-creatures,  though 
he  sometimes  made  his  home  with  Indians, 
and  who  had  a  bright  star,  which  he  kept  in 
a  box  and  seldom  showed  to  anybody. 


CHAPTER   XL 

"FUN    WITH    THE    BEARS." 

THE  searchers  for  the  Star  were  highly  en- 
couraged by  what  they  learned  from  the  Red 
Jim  family. 

It  was  then  reasonably  certain  that  Baptiste 
Lafonce  was  alive,  that  he  was  somewhere  in 
the  pine-woods,  and  that  he  was  still  in  pos- 
session of  the  Star. 

Ben  Halstead  then  made  a  good  point  for  the 
party,  though  in  doing  so  he  only  anticipated 
Louis  Hameau,  who  was  rather  slower  and 
more  cautious  than  his  young  comrades. 

He  proposed  that  Santan  should  accompany 
the  searchers  as  a  guide. 

This  exactly  suited  Harry,  who  had  taken  a 
great  liking  to  the  young  Indian,  and,  of  course, 
it  pleased  Louis,  who  had  been  about  to  make 
a  similar  proposition. 


"FUN  WITH  THE  BEARS."  123 

Santan  was  also  pleased,  and  a  bargain  was 
soon  struck,  by  which  the  searchers  believed 
they  had  secured  not  only  a  good  guide,  but  all 
the  information  he  could  furnish  them  concern- 
ing Baptiste  Lafonce. 

All  this  stimulated  them  to  recommence  the 
search  for  the  Star,  which  had  been  allowed  to 
rest  while  they  enjoyed  themselves  with  their 
fishing  and  hunting  at  the  camp  on  the  lake. 

They  asked  their  new  friends  where  Baptiste 
Lafonce  might  be  found  at  that  season,  but 
neither  Red  Jim  nor  Santan  had  any  definite 
opinion  on  that  point. 

Baptiste  was  supposed  to  be  roaming  about, 
and  would  be  as  likely  to  be  found  in  one  place 
as  another.  Though  his  haunts  might  be 
guessed  at,  it  was  mainly  a  matter  of  chance 
whether  they  should  happen  on  him. 

But  both  the  Indians  agreed  in  saying  that 
the  missing  Kanuck,  when  he  did  not  hire  out 
•to  a  logging  gang,  was  supposed  to  pass  the 
winter  in  the  great  basin  of  Mount  Katahdin. 


124  THE   SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

This  statement  made  the  searchers  stare,  as 
it  confronted  them  with  the  possibility  of  pass- 
ing the  winter  in  the  woods  ;  but  this  was  not 
the  first  time  thaf  such  a  thought  had  occurred 
to  them. 

Anticipating  the  possibility  of  a  prolonged 
stay,  they  had  written  home  from  Tim  Haley's 
tavern,  which  was  the  general  post-office  for 
that  region,  giving  an  account  of  their  adven- 
tures thus  far,  and  requesting  that  a  supply  of 
heavy  clothing  should  be  sent  to  them  at  Ha- 
ley's by  the  first  caravan  of  drogers  from 
Bangor  or  Oldtown. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Santan  that  the  most 
likely  place  to  find  Baptiste  Lafonce  would  be 
the  vicinity  of  Mount  Katahdin,  and  to  get 
there  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
East  Branch  of  the  Penobscot. 

This  step  having  been  determined  on,  the 
searchers  were  delayed  and  at  the  same  time 
helped  by  a  heavy  rain,  that  greatly  improved 
canoe-navigation  on  the  "  Pony." 


^  FUN-   WITH   THE  BEARS." 


125 


So  they  made  their  way  without  any  diffi- 
culty back  to  the  Penobscot,  and  paddled  and 
poled  the  canoa  up  that  stream,  until  they 
reached  the  mouth  of  the*  little  Wassata- 
quoik,  where  they  found  another  backwoods 
tavern,  kept  by  a  Yankee  named  Abner 
Flagg. 

Flagg's  place  was  by  no  means  as  large  and 
commodious  as  Haley's,  being  only  a  rough 
log-cabin  with  two  rooms. 

They  found  only  one  customer  at  Flagg's, 
and  that  was  the  low-browed,  dark-faced  man 
whom  they  had  met  at  Haley's,  and  who  had 
spoken  so  strangely  when  they  were  inquiring 
about  Baptiste  Lafonce. 

His  business  there  seemed  to  be  to  fill 
himself  up  with  Medford  rum ;  but  he  quitted 
it  when  the  searchers  entered  the  cabin, 
scowled  at  them,  and  shortly  went  away. 

Flagg  told  them,  when  they  asked  who  and 
what  he  was,  that  his  name  was  Dan  Withers, 
and  that  he  was  connected  with  a  party  of 


126  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

timber-prospectors  who  were  camped  about  a 
dozen  miles  up  the  river. 

A  prospectors'  camp  was  what  the  searchers 
wanted  to  find  in  that  vicinity,  as  they  might 
get  hold  of  some  news  of  the  man  they  were 
looking  for. 

So  they  went  on  up  the  river,  after  leaving  a 
message  to  be  sent  to  Haley's,  to  the  effect 
that  when  their  supplies  arrived  there  they 
were  to  be  forwarded  to  Flagg's. 

It  was  then  the  late  fall  in  that  region,  and 
all  the  trees  which  were  not  evergreens  were 
arrayed  in  various  shades  of  color,  from  yellow 
to  crimson,  but  were  rapidly  casting  off  their 
dress,  and  the  surface  of  the  river  was  covered 
with  variegated  leaves. 

The  days  were  growing  cool,  and  the  nights 
really  cold,  with  films  of  ice  forming  at  the 
edges  of  little  pools,  and  the  searchers  were 
obliged  to  use  warmer  cover  when  they 
slept. 

When  they  supposed  themselves  to  be  some- 


"FUN  WITH  THE  BEARS."  \2J 

where  near  the  prospectors,  they  halted,  pulled 
up  the  canoe,  and  made  a  camp. 

Early  the  next  morning  Louis  and  Ben 
started  out  to  find  the  lumbermen,  leav- 
ing Santan  and  Harry  in  charge  of  the 
camp. 

When  they  went  away  they  were  of  the 
opinion  that  it  was  quite  likely  they  might  be 
absent  all  night. 

Although  the  guide  had  to  guess  at  the 
location  of  the  prospectors'  camp,  he  found  it 
without  a  serious  search,  and  found  the  inmates 
at  home. 

They  proved  to  be  some  of  Whitby's  men, 
who  had  located  a  good  lot  of  pine  timber, 
had  cut  and  stored  a  sufficiency  of  wild  hay, 
and  were  then  busily  employed  in  building 
winter-quarters  for  the  logging  operations  of 
the  coming  winter. 

The  head  of  the  gang  was  Marvin  Driggs,  a 
somewhat  elderly  man,  quiet  and  reserved,  but 
of  much  force  of  character,  upon  whom  Nathan 


128  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Whitby  relied  for  the  general  management  of 
his  work  in  the  woods. 

The  prospectors  were  glad  to  receive  the 
strangers,  especially  as  one  of  them  was 
Hiram  Halstead's  son,  and  knocked  off  work 
before  noon,  so  as  to  entertain  them  properly 
and  give  them  as  good  a  dinner  as  the  camp 
could  afford. 

"  How  have,  you  been  gittin'  on  here  ? " 
inquired  Louis,  after  he  and  his  companion, 
under  the  pressure  of  constant  questions,  had 
given  out  all  the  news  they  had. 

"  We  have  been  doing  very  well,"  answered 
Driggs.  "  Nothing  to  complain  of,  except  the 
bears-;  but  I  do  believe  that  I  was  never  so 
bothered  by  bears  as  I  have  been  this  season." 

"  We've  had  trouble  with  'em  too,"  said 
Louis,  and  he  gave  a  pretty  lively  account  of 
the  bears  that  had  driven  Ben  up  a  tree  and 
cornered  Harry  in  the  canoe. 

"  That  was  rather  rough  on  the  young  fel- 
lers," remarked  Driggs  ;  "  but  two  bears  ain't 


"FUN   WITH  THE  BEARS." 

worth  speaking  of,  anyhow.  If  you  had  been 
with  us,  you  might  have  had  something  to  say 
about  bears.  It  seems  as  if  all  the  pesky  crit- 
ters in  the  woods  have  been  hanging  about  our 
camp,  stealing,  and  doing  all  the  mischief  they 
could  get  into  their  heads.  We  could  never 
leave  as  much  as  a  pair  of  stockings  out-of- 
doors  at  night,  but  they  would  be  found  miss- 
ing or  torn  to  bits  in  the  morning.  But  the 
boys  are  going  to  play  a  game  to-night  that 
will  bother  the  beasts,  I'm  thinking." 

Louis  and  Ben  took  an  early  opportunity  to 
question  Marvin  Driggs  concerning  the  man 
they  were  seeking,  and  learned  that  he  was 
well  acquainted  with  Baptiste  Lafonce,  who 
had  worked  with  Whitby's  loggers  during  a 
portion  of  the  previous  winter,  and  who  had 
called  at  the  prospectors'  camp  once  that 
fall. 

"  But  he  only  looked  in  to  see  his  brother- 
in-law,"  added  Driggs,  "and  went  right  off 
without  saying  anything  more  than  he  could 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

help  to  any  of  the  rest  of  us.  He  is  a  queer 
duck,  Lafonce  is." 

"  Who  is  his  brother-in-law  ?  "  queried  Ben. 

"  A  Canadian,  but  not  a  Kanuck,  named  Dan 
Withers,  who  married  a  sister  of  Baptiste's." 

It  was  the  same  man  whom  the  searchers 
had  met  at  Haley's  and  then  at  Flagg's,  and  it 
was  no  wonder  that  he  had  spoken  strangely 
concerning  Baptiste. 

"  Where  is  Dan  Withers  now  ? "  inquired 
Louis. 

"  I  don't  know.  Shouldn't  wonder  if  he's 
gone  on  a  bu'st,  as  he  went  down  to  Flagg's 
and  hasn't  turned  up  since." 

Louis  thought  it  best  to  take  Marvin  Driggs 
aside  after  a  while,  and  explain  what  it  really 
was  that  had  brought  him  and  his  young  friends 
into  the  woods,  and  the  honest  old  logger  was 
amazed. 

"Just  to  think,"  said  he,  "that  the  darned 
fool  should  be  carrying  such  a  valuable  piece 
of  property  about  in  the  woods  all  this  time, 


"FUN   WITH  THE  BEARS."  131 

with  nobody  to  suspect  him  !  It's  no  use  to 
him,  nothing  but  a  bother,  and  what  does  he 
want  to  keep  it  for  ?  " 

"Perhaps,"  suggested  Ben,  "he  don't  want 
to  throw  it  away,  and  is  afraid  to  sell  it 
or  take  it  back  to  the  people  he  stole  it 
from." 

"  Like  enough  ;  and  now,  my  young  friend, 
I  think  I  can  give  you  a  p'int.  I  don't  believe 
that  Dan  Withers  has  gone  on  a  big  bu'st.  He 
was  off  nearly  a  week  a  bit  ago,  and  I  gave  him 
such  a  solemn  warning  that  he  is  not  likely  to 
play  that  game  again  very  soon.  As  he  left 
Flagg's,  and  hasn't  shown  up  here,  what  has 
become  of  him  ? " 

"  Gone  to  find  his  brother-in-law,"  observed 
Ben. 

"  That's  it.  He  knows  that  you  are  hunting 
Baptiste,  believes  that  you  mean  harm  to  him, 
and  has  gone  to  give  him  warning.  If  that's 
the  state  of  the  case,  and  the  chances  are  that 
it  is,  it  shows  that  Baptiste  can't  be  far  from 


132  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

here  just  now,  though  that  guess  mayn't  be 
worth  a  great  deal  to  you." 

Louis  and  Ben  were  easily  persuaded  to 
spend  the  night  at  the  prospectors'  camp,  to 
witness  the  bear  circus  that  was  promised 
them. 

The  preparations  showed  that,  though  the 
proposed  circus  might  be  fun  with  the  bears, 
it  was  not  likely  to  be  fun  for  the  bears. 

Indeed,  it  was  a  rather  cruel  sport  that 
was  intended ;  but  allowance  must  be  made 
for  the  fact  that  the  lumbermen  had  been 
so  badly  bothered  by  the  bears  that  they 
might  be  supposed  to  have  a  right  to  worry 
their  four-footed  pests  in  return. 

Selecting  a  straight  young  pine  that  grew 
near  their  camp,  they  had  trimmed  off  all  its 
branches  but  one,  to  which  was  securely  made 
fast  a  keg  partly  filled  with  molasses,  of  which 
delicacy  bears  are  so  fond  that  they  will  run 
any  risk  to  get  at  it. 

A  gimlet-hole  was   bored    in    the  bottom  of 


"FUN  WITH  THE  BEARS."  ^3 

the  keg,  to  allow  a  very  slow  drip  down  the 
trunk  of  the  tree. 

Around  the  base  was  piled  a  large  quantity 
of  the  most  combustible  wood  that  could  be 
procured,  and  from  the  pile  a  train  of  powder 
was  laid  to  the  camp,  which  was  a  log  building, 
similar  to  loggers'  quarters,  but  less  in  size. 

The  guests  were  informed  that  they  might 
lie  down  and  rest  in  peace,  as  one  of  the  log- 
gers would  keep  watch  and  inform  the  rest 
when  the  performance  was  about  to  begin. 

At  about  the  middle  of  the  night  they  were 
quietly  awakened,  and  all  took  positions  from 
which  they  could  command  a  view  of  the 
pine  sapling. 

As  the  moon  was  still  up,  the  locality  on 
which  they  had  fixed  their  gaze  was  plainly 
visible. 

They  saw  a  bear  snuffing  about  the  pile  of 
wood,  which  he  carefully  ascended  after  a  few 
minutes,  and  licked  up  the  molasses  that  had 
dropped  down  the  tree. 


1 34  THE  SEARCH  FOR   THE  STAR. 

This  did  not  satisfy  him.  Perceiving  the 
source  from  which  the  droppings  came,  it  was 
necessary  to  his  happiness  that  he  should 
secure  the  keg.  Therefore  he  climbed  the 
tree,  licking  as  he  went. 

It  was  a  pretty  hard  climb  for  a  bear  ;  but 
he  got  up  to  the  branch,  and,  finding  the  keg 
immovable,  strove  to  get  into  a  position  that 
would  allow  him  to  dip  his  paw  into  the  sweet 
stuff. 

At  this  period  of  the  performance,  the  pro- 
spectors would  have  fired  the  train  of  powder 
had  it  not  been  for  the  sudden  appearance  of 
another  bear,  which  came  trotting  to  the  tree, 
greedily  eager  to  get  his  (or  her)  share  of  the 
molasses. 

This  made  the  scene  doubly  interesting,  and 
the  result  was  awaited  with  lively  expectation. 

The  second  bear  lumbered  over  the  pile  of 
wood  and  scrambled  up  the  tree,  and  the  first 
bear,  perceiving  his  approach,  began  to  growl 
and  show  his  teeth. 


"FUN  WITH  THE  BEARS."  13$ 

Evidently,  there  would  be  a  fight  at  the 
meeting,  and  when  number  two  was  half-way 
up  the  tree  the  train  was  fired. 

A  flash  of  fire  ran  over  the  ground,  and  the 
combustibles  at  the  base  of  the  tree  began  to 
burn,  slowly  at  first,  but  soon  very  freely. 

The  bears  were  so  absorbed  in  their  own 
affairs  that  they  did  not  notice  the  start  of  the 
conflagration,  and  number  two  had  reached 
the  branch  when  number  one  struck  him  such 
a  blow  with  his  paw  as  nearly  forced  him  to 
loose  his  hold. 

By  this  time  the  fire  was  burning  briskly, 
and  the  two  beasts  on  the  tree  were  painfully 
sensible  of  the  smoke  and  the  heat. 

Number  two  again  struggled  to  get  up,  but 
number  one  hit  him  so  hard  that  he  dropped, 
and  fell  on  his  back  into  the  fire,  scattering 
the  combustibles,  and  sending  up^a  mass  of 
sparks  and  smoke. 

Dazed  and  half-dead,  and  with  his  shaggy 
coat  in  a  blaze,  he  managed  to  free  himself 


SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

from  the  fire,  only  to  be  shot  down  by  the 
woodsmen,  who  hastened  to  pile  on  more  fuel 
for  the  benefit  of  the  other  bear. 

Number  one,  forgetting  the  molasses,  and 
thinking  only  of  his  unpleasant  and  perilous 
position,  whined  and  howled  like  a  whipped 
cur,  and  vainly  sought  to  change  his  position, 
finding  himself  unable  to  move  up  or  down? 
while  the  smoke  and  heat  were  rapidly  driving 
him  wild. 

But  the  fire  was  at  the  same  time  eating  into 
the  base  of  the  sapling,  and  before  the  worried 
beast  lost  his  hold  the  young  pine  wavered  and 
fell. 

The  woodsmen  were  at  the  spot  nearly  as 
soon  as  the  bear  touched  the  ground,  and  they 
at  once  put  an  end  to  the  little  life  that  was 
left  in  his  body. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

A    MIDNIGHT    MARAUDER. 

WITH  Harry  and  Santan  time  passed  slowly; 
after  their  comrades  had  left  them,  and  the 
lad  was  more  lonesome  than  he  would  have 
cared  to  admit. 

They  tried  fishing,  at  first,  but  were  finally 
driven  to  the  conclusion  that  there  were  no 
fish  worth  catching  in  that  portion  of  the 
Penobscot. 

As  they  could  not  both  leave  the  camp  to- 
gether, and  as  Harry  had  been  cautioned  not 
to  go  far  from  Santan,  there  was  not  much  for 
him  to  do  in  the  way  of  hunting ;  but  he  shot 
a  partridge  near  by,  and  that  was  better  than 
nothing. 

So  there  was  little  for  them  to  do  besides 
cooking  and  eating,  and  cleaning  up  camp, 
though  the  Indian,  who  was  a  great  smoker, 
137 


!38  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

got  on  very  well  with  the  company  of  his 
pipe. 

It  was  no  wonder  that  they  went  to  rest  at 
an  early  hour,  and  then  they  slept  soundly,  as 
they  always  did. 

The  mosquitoes,  benumbed  by  the  nightly 
cold,  gave  them  no  bother,  and,  as  they  were 
warmly  wrapped  in  blankets,  nothing  disturbed 
them  until  they  awoke  at  daylight. 

A  most  unpleasant  surprise  awaited  them  in 
the  morning. 

They  had  left  the  greater  part  of  their  be- 
longings in  the  canoe  and  near  the  camp-fire, 
and  sundry  articles  were  mysteriously  missing. 
Several  pieces  of  clothing,  several  cans  of  pro- 
visions, and  a  few  other  items  had  disappeared. 

The  Indian  was  even  more  surprised  by  this 
discovery  than  Harry  was,  as  he  had  not  be- 
lieved it  to  be  possible  that  any  man  or  beast 
could  come  about  the  camp  at  night  without 
waking  him,  and  he  was  quite  upset  by  the 
occurrence. 


A   MIDNIGHT  MARAUDER. 

Harry  suggested  that  the  marauder  might 
have  been  a  bear,  but  Santan  shook  his  head. 

"  Kanucks,"  he  said,  in  a  tone  of  infinite 
disgust. 

An  examination  of  the  ground  confirmed  his 
supposition,  and  also  brought  him  to  the  con- 
clusion that  there  had  been  but  one  Kanuck 
engaged  in  the  robbery. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  asked  Harry. 

The  Indian  explained  that  the  prowling  Ka- 
nucks, who  were  notorious  thieves,  usually 
wore  moccasins,  or  shoes  that  were  different 
from  those  of  Americans  or  other  woodsmen, 
and  that  he  could  recognize  the  track  of  one  of 
the  vagabonds  wherever  he  should  see  it. 

He  found  the  print  of  one  pair  of  moccasins 
near  the  camp,  and  only  one  pair. 

If  there  had  been  more  than  one  Kanuck,  he 
said,  more  property  would  have  been  missing. 
The  thief  had  simply  taken  as  much  as  he 
could  carry.  A  bear  would  have  destroyed  the 
articles. 


140  THE  SEARCH  FOR   THE  STAR. 

This  point  being  settled,  it  remained  to  be 
seen  whether  anything  could  be  done  toward 
catching  the  rascal. 

While  Harry  hastened  to  prepare  breakfast, 
the  Indian  examined  the  ground  more  carefully, 
endeavoring  to  discover  a  trail  that  he  would  be 
able  to  follow. 

He  found  the  place  where  the  moccasin 
tracks  went  into  the  forest,  but  had  serious 
doubts  of  his  ability  to  trace  it  far. 

As  soon  as  he  had  got  something  to  eat,  he 
took  his  rifle  and  started. 

"You  had  better  let  me  go  along  and  help 
you,"  suggested  Harry,  who  was  eager  to  hunt 
something. 

"Me  plenty  good  for  one  Kanuck,"  an- 
swered Santan,  and  off  he  went,  leaving  the  lad 
to  watch  the  camp. 

The  Indian  was  gone  about  two  hours,  which 
were  long  and  lonesome  hours  for  Harry,  and 
when  he  got  back  he  was  disappointed*  and  dis- 
couraged. 


A   MIDNIGHT  MARAUDER.  1^1 

He  had  followed  the  faint  moccasin  trail 
slowly  and  with  difficulty,  until  he  lost  it  en- 
tirely, and,  after  fruitless  efforts  to  find  it,  was 
compelled  to  abandon  the  pursuit. 

So  he  and  Harry  sat  down  together  and 
abused  the  sneaking  scoundrel  to  their  heart's 
content. 

The  loss  of  their  property  did  not  trouble 
them  as  much  as  the  fact  that  they  were  unable 
to  catch  and  punish  the  mean  and  prowling 
thief. 

In  the  meantime,  Louis  Hameau  and  Ben 
Halstead  were  returning  from  the  camp  of  the 
prospectors,  pleased  with  the  reception  that  had 
been  given  them  there,  and  rejoicing  in  the  be- 
lief that  Baptiste  Lafonce  was  somewhere  in 
the  vicinity,  and  might  possibly  be  found. 

As  they  reached  the  crest  of  a  ridge  which 
they  were  obliged  to  cross,  they  saw  thin 
wreaths  of  smoke  curling  up  among  the  tree- 
tops  in  the  little  valley  below. 

Of  course,  somebody  was  camping  there,  or 


142  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

had  lately  camped  there,  and,  as  they  had  heard 
of  nobody  in  the  neighborhood  besides  the  pro- 
spectors, whom  they  had  lately  left,  they  were 
curious  to  learn  who  the  campers  might  be. 

"We'll  go  down  there  and  take  a  look  at 
'em,"  said  Louis. 

"We  may  happen  on  the  very  man  we  are 
looking  for,"  suggested  Ben. 

As  this  was  possible,  they  descended  the 
ridge  quietly,  and  stole  stealthily  toward  the 
camp-fire. 

When  they  reached  it,  they  perceived  that  it 
had  nearly  burned  out,  and  saw  a  man  asleep  on 
the  ground,  whom  Louis  at  once  pronounced  to 
be  one  of  the  lowest  class  of  Kanucks. 

Scattered  about  him  were  cans  of  provisions 
and  other  articles  of  property,  which  the 
searchers  thought  they  recognized  as  their 
own,  and  a  little  later  they  were  sure  of  it. 

'"  Why,  Louis,  the  fellow  has  robbed  our 
camp  !  "  whispered  Ben. 

"  Yes,  and  it's  mighty  lucky  for  us  that  we 


"The  guide  stepped  forward  softly."  —Page  143. 


A   MIDNIGHT  MARAUDER.  ^3 

happened   to    find   him   here.     Now   we'll  nab 
him." 

The  prowler  had  halted  when  he  deemed 
himself  safe  from  pursuit,  had  opened  one  of 
the  cans  of  meat,  had  set  it  on  the  coals  to 
cook,  had  stuffed  himself  until  he  could  scarcely 
stand,  and  had  then  lain  down  and  gone  to 
sleep. 

The  guide  stepped  forward  softly,  but  his 
light  footstep  was  enough  to  awake  the  Ka- 
nuck,  who  started  up,  and  was  seized  and  firmly 
held  by  Louis. 

He  attempted  no  resistance,  and  his  only 
emotion  seemed  to  be  fear  of  the  consequences 
of  his  knavery. 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  him  ?  "  asked  Louis. 
"  Whip  him  and  turn  him  loose  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  Ben.  "  We  had  better  take 
him  on  to  the  camp  and  try  to  squeeze  some  in- 
formation out  of  him.  We  can  make  him  use- 
ful, too,  by  forcing  him  to  carry  back  his  plun- 
der." 


144  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

There  was  nothing  to  fear  from  the  Kanuck, 
who  was  an  abject  and  degraded  specimen  of 
humanity,  low-browed  and  dark-faced,  with 
features  that  were  expressive  of  nothing  but 
ignorance,  and  half-clad  in  dirty  and  tattered 
garments,  —  one  of  the  worst  samples  of  the 
pine-woods  tramp. 

He  was  a  mixture,  the  guide  said,  of  the 
French-Canadian  and  Indian  races,  and  he 
spoke  a  strange  dialect,  of  which  Louis  under- 
stood but  little ;  but  it  was  supposed  that 
Santan  might  be  able  to  converse  with 
him. 

So  he  was  loaded  up  with  the  plunder  that 
he  had  stolen,  and  was  compelled  to  trudge 
back  to  the  camp  on  the  river,  closely  guarded 
by  Louis,  who  said  that  his  kind  were  so  sly 
and  slippery  that  they  could  get  away  like  a 
snake. 

Santan  and  Harry  were  delighted  and  sur- 
prised by  the  sight  of  this  procession  as  it 
came  out  of  the  forest. 


A   MIDNIGHT  MARAUDER,  j^ 

When  the  capture  of  the  Kanuck  had  been 
explained  to  them,  they  entered  eagerly  into 
the  arrangements  for  squeezing  some  informa- 
tion out  of  him. 

The  prisoner  was  stolid  and  silent  when 
Santan  spoke  to  him,  professing  an  inability 
to  understand  what  was  said,  but  some  threat- 
ening words  and  gestures  gave  him  a  clearer 
comprehension  of  things. 

"Tell  him,"  said  Louis,  "that  we  want  to 
know  where  Baptiste  Lafonce  is." 

Santan  did  so,  but  the  Kanuck  shook  his 
head,  denying  all  knowledge  of  the  man  who 
was  sought. 

"  That  won't  do,"  put  in  Ben.  "  Tell  him 
that  we  know  better,  and  that  we  know  that 
Baptiste  is  not  far  from  here." 

This  statement,  when  translated,  had  no 
effect  upon  the  Kanuck. 

"Then  there's  only  one  thing  to  do,"  said 
the  guide.  "  If  he  tells  us  what  we  want  to 
know,  we'll  feed  him  and  turn  him  loose.  If 


I46  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

he  won't  tell,  he  gits  such  a  floggin'  as  he'll 
remember  for  a  long  time." 

"  White  man  whippa  like  de  debbil  —  com- 
prenny  ? "  was  the  conclusion  of  Santan's  state- 
ment, and  the  countenance  of  the  Kanuck 
showed  that  he  understood  it  well  enough. 

He  then  crawled  down,  as  Ben  expressed  it, 
admitted  that  he  knew  Baptiste  Lafonce,  whom 
he  had  lately  seen,  and  said  that  the  missing 
man  had  then  gone,  or  would  shortly  go,  into 
the  big  basin  of  Katahdin. 

Harry  proposed  that  they  should  keep  the 
Kanuck  as  a  guide  and  to  prevent  him  from 
giving  information  of  their  purpose ;  but  Louis 
and  Santan  declared  that  he  could  not  be 
watched  closely  enough  to  keep  him  from 
stealing  something  and  slipping  away,  and 
there  was  a  general  repugnance  to  any  further 
association  with  him. 

So  he  was  given  a  can  of  meat  and  some 
hard  bread,  and  was  sent  away. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

A   FOREST    FIRE. 

BELIEVING  that  they  then  had  no  time  to 
lose,  as  it  might  be  possible  to  find  the  man 
they  wanted  before  winter  set  in,  the  searchers 
loaded  their  belongings  into  the  canoe,  and 
started  down  the  river. 

After  passing  the  night  at  Abner  Flagg's, 
they  proceeded  up  the  Wassataquoik  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  though  they  found  the  navigation 
rather  difficult  at  that  time  of  the  year,  even 
for  a  canoe. 

Near  the  head  of  the  river,  but  not  at  its 
head,  as  it  had  branches  extending  further, 
some  of  them  up  into  the  mountain,  they  came 
to  a  lake  somewhat  similar  to  that  on  the 
"  Pony,"  but  longer  and  not  so  picturesque. 

The  scenery,  however,  was  attractive  in  its 
rugged  wildness,  and  over  the  lake  in  the  after- 
147 


148  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

noon  fell  the  great  shadow  of  Mount  Katahdin, 
advancing  slowly  from  the  south-west. 

Here  they  stopped,  pulling  their  canoe  up 
under  the  trees,  and  devoted  the  next  two  days 
to  the  construction  of  a  passably  comfortable 
camp,  intending  to  make  that  spot  their  head- 
quarters, from  which  they  would  explore  the 
surrounding  country  and  the  mountain  at  their 
convenience. 

Louis  and  Santan,  with  the  two  axes, 
chopped  down  trees,  and  cut  them  into  suit- 
able lengths,  and  the  boys  were  able  to  do  some 
service  with  the  hatchets,  besides  attending  to 
the  cooking  and  the  other  camp  duties. 

Thus  they  erected  in  a  short  time,  by  dove- 
tailing the  logs  and  building  them  upon  each 
other,  a  tolerably  substantial  log  hut,  twelve 
feet  long  and  eight  feet  deep,  six  feet  high  in 
front,  and  half  that  height  in  the  rear,  with  a 
door-way  that  could  be  closed  by  a  bear-skin  or 
a  blanket  sufficiently  to  keep  out  the  wind  and 
rain  or  the  possible  snow. 


A   FOREST  FIRE.  I4g 

The  roof  was  formed  of  heavy  poles,  over 
which  was  laid  a  thick  covering  of  fir-boughs 
and  moss,  upon  which  some  more  poles  were 
placed  to  keep  the  moss  in  position. 

The  structure  was  not  what  they  might  have 
made  it  if  they  had  possessed  a  few  tools 
besides  the  axes ;  but  it  promised  to  answer 
the  purpose  of  a  shelter  very  well,  and  it  was 
furnished  with  a  comfortable  couch  of  fir- 
boughs. 

As  they  were  not  able  to  build  a  chimney, 
the  cooking  would  have  to  be  done  out-of- 
doors  ;  but  that,  it  was  hoped,  would  not  be  a 
real  inconvenience. 

The  morning  after  the  log  hut  was  finished 
sufficiently  to  be  occupied,  Louis  and  Harry 
set  out  to  explore  the  country  near  the  lake, 
and  to  endeavor  to  find  a  way  into  the  big 
basin  of  Katahdin,  which  was  supposed  to  be 
very  difficult  of  access. 

Louis  had  visited  the  mountain  but  once 
previously,  and  Santan,  though  he  had  been 


150  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

all  around  it,  had  never  climbed  any  of  its 
heights  or  penetrated  any  of  its  recesses. 

For  this  absence  of  an  exploring  spirit  the 
Indian  had  his  reasons,  and  he  was  ready 
enough  to  tell  them. 

Katahdin,  he  said,  was  inhabited  and  con- 
trolled by  an  Indian  spirit  or  demon,  named 
Pamolah,  who  had  contracted  a  terrible  hatred 
of  the  red  race. 

/ 

Once  on  a  time  there  had  been  a  beautiful 
Indian  girl,  who  had  broken  the  hearts  of  all 
the  young  men  of  her  tribe,  and  Pamolah  had 
stolen  her  and  carried  her  up  into  Katahdin, 
where  he  kept  her  as  his  own.  Since  then, 
whenever  an  Indian  ventured  too  near  to 
Katahdin,  Pamolah  was  sure  to  brew  a  storm 
and  fling  it  at  him,  or  to  invent  some  other 
calamity,  and  lucky  was  the  Indian  who 
escaped  with  his  life. 

Santan  took  pains  to  say  that  he  did  not 
believe  in  the  power  of  Pamolah,  but  admitted 
that  he  always  carefully  kept  clear  of  Katahdin. 


A   FOREST  FIRE.  i$i 

Like  the  Kentuckian  who  threw  into  the 
fire  a  live  bird  because  it  was  bad  luck  for  a 
bird  to  fly  in  at  the  window,  he  "  didn't  believe 
in  them  signs  and  omens,  but  didn't  want  to  go 
ag'inst  'em." 

So  Louis  and  Harry  composed  the  exploring 
expedition,  Harry  being  taken  because  Ben  had 
gone  to  the  prospectors'  camp,  and  the  agree- 
ment was  that  they  should  take  turns  in  accom- 
panying the  guide. 

It  was  a  great  comfort  that  Santan  had  come 
with  them,  as  Louis  could  be  sure  that  he  left 
Ben  in  good  hands,  and  that  the  camp  would 
be  well  cared  for  in  the  absence  of  the  other 
two. 

Ben  Halstead  and  Santan  were  not  at  a  loss 
for  employment  after  their  comrades  had  left 
them. 

During  the  intervals  between  the  important 
occupations  of  cooking  and  eating  they  busied 
themselves  in  gathering  moss,  which  they 
stuffed  into  the  cracks  of  the  log  hut,  and 


152  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

succeeded  in  making  its  sides  nearly  wind- 
proof  and  rain-proof.  They  had  their  doubts 
about  the  roof,  which  could  be  fairly  tested 
only  by  a  storm. 

While  they  were  thus  engaged,  they  noticed 
that  the  air  had  become  sensibly  warmer, 
while  the  sky  was  so  hazy  and  thick  that  they 
could  easily  look  the  sun  in  the  face,  and 
toward  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  they  per- 
ceived a' strong  smell  of  smoke. 

After  a  while  the  smoke  became  so  heavy 
and  pungent  that  it  made  their  eyes  water, 
and  gave  them  fits  of  sneezing. 

"  Big  fire  somewhere,"   said  the  Indian. 

"  A  forest  fire  is  a  terrible  thing,"  observed 
Ben.  "  I  hope  that  Harry  and  Louis  are  no- 
where near  it." 

Pretty  soon  clouds  of  smoke  began  to  rise 
above  the  tree-tops  and  darken  the  sky,  and 
then  there  was  something  worse  than  that. 

The  breath  of  a  hot  breeze  touched  them, 
and  soon  it  became  a  strong:  wind  with  almost 


A  FOREST  FIRE.  l^ 

a  furnace-heat,  and  they  heard  the  crackling 
of  flames,  and  bright  tongues  of  fire  were  visi- 
ble in  the  forest,  while  at  a  distance  was  heard 
the  crash  of  falling  trees. 

It  was  a  big  forest  fire  which  they  were 
about  to  experience,  and  it  came  from  the 
direction  in  which  their  friends  were  supposed 
to  have  gone,  and  was  sweeping  toward  them 
just  then  at  tremendous  speed. 

"  We  must  git  out  o'  dis  mighty  quick," 
said  the  Indian,  and  he  set  the  example  him- 
self. 

There  was  no  hope  of  escaping  that  confla- 
gration but  by  way  of  the  water,  and  it  was 
fortunate  for  the  two  that  they  were  camped 
at  the  edge  of  the  lake. 

Using  their  utmost  exertions,  they  ran  the 
canoe  into  the  water,  hurriedly  loaded  it  with 
everything  that  had  been  taken  from  it,  and 
pushed  off. 

Before  they  could  get  away  from  the  shore, 
the  smoke  was  so  thick  that  it  nearly  smoth- 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

ered  them,  the  heat  was  becoming  unbearable, 
and  the  fire  was  advancing  toward  them  with 
amazing  rapidity. 

They  paddled  the  canoe  to  the  middle  of 
the  lake,  far  from  the  line  of  the  fire,  but  not 
entirely  out  of  reach  of  the  smoke,  and  from 
that  point  of  safety  they  gazed  at  the  magnifi- 
cent but  terrible  scene  on  the  land. 

The  forest  was  an  ocean  of  fire  ;  the  current 
swept  forward  with  a  force  that  nothing  could 
resist ;  the  tops  of  the  tallest  trees  were  pillars 
of  flame ;  everywhere  great  monarchs  of  the 
woods  were  falling  with  tremendous  crashes  ; 
the  earth  itself  seemed  to  be  burning  up,  and 
the  spectacle  was  awful  in  its  grandeur. 

One  of  the  two  persons  in  the  canoe  on  the 
lake,  if  not  both  of  them,  was  nearly  wild  with 
anxiety  concerning  the  fate  of  the  absent 
friends  and  comrades,  who  might  have  been 
caught  and  destroyed  by  that  fearful  conflagra- 
tion ;  but  neither  said  a  word  about  them. 

The   subject    was   too   horrible  to   be   men- 


A  Forest  Fire.  —  Page  154. 


A  FOREST  FIRE.  155 

tioned,  and  they  endeavored  to  evade  it  by 
thinking  and  speaking  of  other  things. 

If  any  person  could  have  seen  and  heard 
them  there,  he  would  have  thought  that  noth- 
ing was  nearer  to  their  hearts  than  the  ques- 
tion whether  their  hut  on  the  shore  would 
escape  the  conflagration. 

The  fire  had  almost  reached  it,  and  a  big 
tree  had  fallen  near  it,  sending  a  shower  of 
sparks  all  over  it,  when  the  wind  suddenly 
changed,  blowing  from  the  lake,  and  the 
conflagration  took  a  new  course. 

Not  that  the  danger  was  over,  as  the  fire 
vm.s  still  burning  about  the  hut ;  but  the 
strength  and  fierceness  of  the  conflagration 
had  taken  another  direction,  carrying  the  mass 
of  flame  and  smoke  with  it. 

"Mebbe  we  save  um  cabin  now,  Ben,"  said 
the  Indian. 

"  Perhaps  we  can.     Let's  go  ashore." 

They  hastily  paddled  the  canoe  to  the  shore, 
and  went  to  work  with  a  will,  though  the  heat 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

was  still  great,  and  the  smoke  was  almost 
stifling. 

As  the  light  stuff  on  the  roof  was  burning, 
and  the  fire  had  attacked  the  log  walls  of  the 
hut,  they  had  a  hard  task  before  them  ;  but  it 
was  successfully  accomplished,  in  spite  of  their 
lack  of  appliances  for  such  work. 

With  the  cooking  utensils  they  carried  water 
from  the  lake,  and  threw  it  on  the  flames  as 
they  broke  out,  and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  the  cabin  was  safe,  without  hav- 
ing received  any  material  damage. 

Hardly  had  they  finished  this  work  when 
they  were  visited  by  a  drenching  rain-storm, 
which  came  too  late  to  be  of  any  service 
to  them,  and  just  in  time  to  bother  them,  as 
they  were  obliged  to  hurry  to  get  a  portion  of 
the  canoe-load  under  shelter. 

The  rain  soon  blew  away,  and  was  succeeded 
by  a  colder  wind  and  flurries  of  snow,  which 
settled  after  a  while  into  a  blinding  and  drifting 
snow-storm. 


A   FOREST  FIRE. 

Bewildered  by  this  rapid  succession  of  unex- 
pected events,  Ben  Halstead  sat  in  the  cabin 
with  Santan,  and  anxiously  and  sorrowfully 
wondered  what  had  become  of  Harry  and 
Louis. 

If  they  had  not  been  overtaken  and  de- 
stroyed by  the  forest  fire,  they  had  surely  been 

caught  in  the  snow-storm,  and,  as  it  promised 

< 

to  be  a  heavy  one,  it  might  cause  them  to  lose 
their  way,  if  nothing  worse  should  come  of  it. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  do  anything  but 
wonder  and  wait,  especially  as  night  was  com- 
ing on ;  so  the  two  comrades  in  the  cabin, 
being  unable  to  cook  a  meal  in  the  storm,  ate 
some  cold  meat  and  bread,  and  lay  down  on 
the  couch  of  fir-boughs. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

SAVED   BY    A   CLOUDBURST. 

Louis  HAMEAU  and  Harry  Russell  were  not 
badly  provided  to  meet  changes  of  weather,  or 
to  stand  a  tough  campaign. 

Besides  a  good  supply  of  cooked  provisions 
in  canvas  bags  that  were  slung  at  their  sides, 
they  carried  blankets  strapped  on  their  backs, 
as  it  was  understood  when  they  left  the  camp 
that  they  might  possibly  be  absent  all  night. 

Their  course  appeared  to  be  plain  enough,  at 
least  at  the  outset  of  the  exploration,  as  they 
had  only  to  start  with  one  of  the  small  streams 
that  flowed  into  the  lake  from  the  direction  of 
Katahdin,  and  follow  it  to  the  mountain,  when 
it  would  probably  lead  them  up  toward  the 
point  which  they  wanted  to  reach. 

It  did  lead  them  up  by  a  steep  but  practica- 
ble pass,  which  was  the  bed  of  the  stream, 
'58 


SAVED  BY  A    CLOUDBURST.  ^9 

though  the  stream  was  then  only  a  little  brook, 
which  trickled  rather  than  ran  down  the  moun- 
tain-side. 

The  climbing  was  hard,  as  the  bed  of  the 
creek  was  very  rocky,  and  in  places  it  was 
obstructed  by  waterfalls,  or  by  rocky  ledges 
that  would  have  furnished  waterfalls  if  the 
stream  had  been  bigger. 

So  the  travellers,  being  obliged  to  stop  to 
rest  every  now  and  then,  made  slow  progress 
until  they  reached  the  spot  where  the  stream 
had  its  rise. 

It  led  them  by  a  deep  and  narrow  pass  to  the 
edge  of  a  broad  and  beautiful  basin,  which 
Louis  at  once  pronounced  to  be  the  big  basin 
of  Katahdin. 

"  I've  been  here  only  once  before,"  said  he, 
"  and  that  was  a  long  time  ago ;  but  I  remem- 
ber it  now  well  enough." 

"  I  should  think  that  anybody  who  had  once 
seen  this  place  would  never  be  likely  to  forget 
it,"  remarked  Harry. 


160  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

They  ascended  the  rocky  ridge  at  the  mouth 
of  the  pass  to  get  a  better  view  of  the  basin, 
and  Harry  was  vastly  pleased  with  what  he  saw. 

The  basin  covered  an  extent  of  perhaps  two 
hundred  acres,  and  its  sides  were  partly  shelv- 
ing and  partly  precipitous,  but  almost  every- 
where very  high,  some  of  the  cliffs  towering 
up  fully  two  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  basin. 

It  was  covered — though  not  thickly  covered 
—  with  trees,  some  of  which  were  very  tall; 
but  there  were  also  treeless  spaces  of  wild 
meadow,  and  there  were  several  —  perhaps  half 
a  dozen  —  lakes  or  ponds  scattered  about  the 
expanse. 

Snow  hung  rather  heavily  on  the  shelving 
southern  side  of  the  basin,  and  patches  of  the 
same  were  visible  here  and  there  among  the 
trees. 

"  What  splendid  hunting  and  fishing  we 
might  have  found  here,"  said  Harry,  "  if  we 
had  come  earlier." 


SAVED  BY  A    CLOUDBURST.  ifti 

"  Mebbe  we'll  find  some  before  we  go 
away,"  answered  the  guide. 

As  far  as  the  searchers  could  see  there  was 
no  sign  of  any  human  habitation,  or  human 
occupancy  or  presence,  anywhere  about  the 
basin,  and  they  had  no  wish  to  extend  their 
exploration  just  then,  as  the  air  was  cold,  and 
the  day  was  drawing  toward  its  close. 

Louis  proposed  that  they  should  return  to 
camp  immediately,  and  Harry  was  willing 
enough,  as  he  wanted  to  have  the  party  to- 
gether when  they  made  a  thorough  exploration 
of  the  basin. 

So  they  climbed  down  the  cliff,  and  began 
to  descend  the  pass  and  the  bed  of  the  brook, 
finding  the  downward  path  nearly  as  difficult  as 
the  upward  journey  had  been. 

They  had  got  about  half-way  down  when 
they  spied  a  bear  feeding  on  blueberries  at  the 
side  of  the  gully,  and  Harry  wanted  that  bear. 

He  tried  to  escape  when  he  saw  the  two- 
legged  animals;  but  his  position  was  against 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

him,  and  he  charged  them  when  he  was  fired 
upon. 

They  had  him  at  a  disadvantage,  and  soon 
he  was  a  dead  bear,  and  Louis  proceeded  to 
remove  his  pelt,  as  Harry  was  anxious  to 
have  it. 

Before  this  job  was  finished  they  perceived 
that  the  air  was  getting  very  thick,  being 
heavily  loaded  with  smoke,  and  they  had  not 
to  look  far  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  oppress- 
ive condition  of  the  atmosphere. 

"The  woods  are  burnin' ! "  said  the  guide, 
pointing  down  the  mountain-side,  and  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  a  big  forest  fire  was  raging 
down  there,  which  covered,  or  threatened  to 
cover,  the  entire  region  between  the  mountain 
and  the  lake. 

It  would  have  been  a  splendid  sight  for  Louis 
and  Harry  to  view  from  their  elevation  if  they 
had  not  been  absorbed  by  anxiety  for  their  own 
safety  and  that  of  their  friends. 

"The  fire  will  reach  our  camp,  sure,"  said 


SAVED  BY  A    CLOUDBURST.  ^3 

Harry,  "and  what  will  become  of  Ben  and  the 
Indian  ? " 

"They  are  safe  enough,"  answered  Louis,  "as 
they  have  the  lake  to  take  to ;  but  the  fire  will 
cut  us  off  from  reaching  them,  and  they  will 
worry  about  us.  I  wonder  if  we  are  safe  here, 
anyhow." 

This  question  was  speedily  answered  in  the 
negative,  as  the  fire  made  its  appearance  below 
them,  rapidly  coming  up  toward  them,  though 
it  was  not  favored  by  the  wind. 

"We  can't  git  down  that  way,"  said  the 
guide ;  "  but  we've  got  the  basin  open  to  us 
yet." 

No,  the  basin  was  not  open  to  them. 

The  fire,  which  had  probably  started  some- 
where on  the  mountain,  had  crept  around  be- 
hind them,  and  was  already  sweeping  down  the 
gully  and  on  both  sides  of  them. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  would  be  surrounded, 
and  they  could  not  attempt  to  stir  from  where 
they  were. 


1 64  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Would  they  be  able  to  remain  there  ? 

The  sides  of  the  mountain  were  mostly  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  growth  of  birch-trees  and 
alder-bushes,  beaten  down  by  the  winds  until 
they  formed  an  impenetrable  tangle,  through 
which  ran  an  occasional  slide  or  gully,  such  as 
our  travellers  had  happened  to  be  caught  in. 

The  tangle  burned  easily  and  briskly,  with  a 
rapid,  roaring  flame. 

Though  there  was  little  growth  of  any  kind 
on  the  sides  of  the  gully,  the  question  for 
Louis  and  Harry  to  consider  was  whether  the 
surrounding  heat  and  smoke  would  not  scorch 
and  stifle  them,  killing  them  as  surely  as  if 
the  flames  had  caught  them. 

They  had  but  a  little  time  to  consider  it,  and 
the  guide  quickly  arrived  at  a  conclusion. 

"We  can't  get  out  o'  this,  Harry,"  said  he, 
"  and  there's  only  one  chance  for  us.  Just 
take  down  your  blanket,  and  foller  my  motions, 
and  we  may  beat  the  fire  yet." 

Near  them  was  a  hole  in  the  gully,  where  the 


SAVED  BY  A    CLOUDBURST,  ifte 

water  of  the  brook  had  formed  a  pool  that  was 
about  waist-deep,  and  this  was  the  chance  of 
which  the  guide  spoke. 

Unstrapping  his  blanket,  he  held  it  in  the 
water  until  it  had  absorbed  as  much  as  it 
would  hold,  and  then,  squatting  down  in  the 
pool,  pulled  it  over  his  head. 

Harry  hastened  to  follow  his  example,  and 
they  held  the  wet  blankets  tightly  over  their 
heads,  covering  every  portion  of  their  bodies 
that  was  not  under  water,  and  leaving  but  a 
small  hole  to  breathe  through. 

The  water  was  almost  icy  cold,  but  that  was 
better  to  bear  than  the  scorching  heat  which 
they  expected. 

It  came  as  soon  as  it  was  expected,  and  con- 
siderably sooner  than  it  was  wanted. 

Then  the  two  comrades  had  such  a  severe 
trial  as  they  hoped  they  might  never  be  sub- 
jected to  again. 

They  were  as  if  in  the  middle  of  a  furnace, 
the  heat  being  intense  all  about  them,  though 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

the  fire  itself  could  not  reach  them  except  in 
the  way  of  sparks  that  fell  upon  them,  and  the 
moisture  arose  from  their  blankets  in  steam 
until  they  became  so  dry  that  it  was  necessary 
to  jerk  them  off  and  dip  them  hastily  in  the 
pool  for  a  fresh  supply  of  water. 

Fortunately  the  wet  blankets  prevented  the 
smoke  from  getting  into  their  lungs,  or  they 
would  soon  have  been  suffocated. 

With  the  lower  portions  of  their  bodies  nearly 
freezing,  while  the  upper  portions  were  steam- 
ing, their  condition  was  not  a  bit  enviable. 

"  I  can't  stand  this  much  longer,"  hoarsely 
whispered  Harry,  as  they  drew  the  blankets 
over  their  heads  after  dipping  them  again  in 
the  .water. 

"Hold  on,  Harry.  It  can't  last  much  longer. 
Hello  !  what's  that  ? " 

"That,"  was  a  noise  like  a  thunderclap; 
but  it  was  not  a  thunderclap,  and  was  imme- 
diately followed  by  a  roaring  sound,  of  which 
Louis  well  knew  the  meaning. 


SAVED  BY  A    CLOUDBURST.  ify 

He  jumped  up  as  if  a  shot  had  struck  him, 
threw  aside  his  blanket,  and  the  next  instant 
jerked  off  Harry's  blanket  and  pulled  the  lad 
out  of  the  water. 

The  fire  had  no  terrors  for  him  then,  as  the 
enemy  of  the  fire  was  at  hand,  and  it  was  also 
equally  the  enemy  of  human  life. 

"  It's  a  cloudburst ! "  he  screamed,  shaking 
his  nearly  dazed  companion.  "Climb,  Harry, 
climb !  Climb  for  all  you're  worth  !  " 

Just  then  there  was  a  down-pour  of  rain 
that  could  be  likened  to  nothing  less  than  an 
avalanche  of  water,  and  the  fire  yielded  to  it 
with  a  hissing  protest,  but  could  not  help 
yielding. 

Leaving  their  blankets,  and  making  no 
effort  to  secure  their  guns,  the  two  victims  of 
the  elements  began  to  climb  the  side  of  the 
gully,  Louis  at  once  picking  out  the  most 
favorable  place  for  making  the  ascent. 

Though  encumbered  by  their  soaked  gar- 
ments, they  both  climbed,  as  the  guide  had 


1 68  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

ordered,  for  all  they  were  worth,  catching  hold 
by  points  of  rock  and  stunted  trees  and 
bushes,  and  giving  no  heed  to  the  stones  that 
fell  from  under  their  hands  or  slipped  from 
below  their  feet. 

Louis,  who  was  a  skilful  and  sturdy  climber, 
helped  his  young  friend  again  and  again,  pull- 
ing him  up  the  side  of  the  gully,  and  more 
than  once  preventing  him  from  dropping  back 
to  the  bottom. 

It  was  well  for  them  that  they  climbed  for 
their  lives,  as  the  cloudburst  half  filled  the 
gully  with  water,  and  in  an  amazingly  short 
space  of  time  after  the  roaring  noise  was  first 
heard,  the  little  brook  was  a  tremendous 
cataract,  boiling,  foaming,  and  rushing  like  a 
mill-race  of  exaggerated  size,  its  surface  cov- 
ered with  logs,  branches,  and  all  manner  of 
debris,  that  were  whirled  down  as  if  they  had 
been  straws. 

Harry  and  Louis  had  to  climb  their  best  to 
escape  the  torrent  ;  but  they  succeeded  in 


SAVED  BY  A    CLOUDBURST.  ^9 

reaching  a  ledge  of  rock  where  they  were  safe, 
though  the  water  rose  nearly  to  their  feet. 

There  they  stood  and  watched  the  flood, 
which  subsided  almost  as  quickly  as  it  had 
risen. 

Harry  wondered  at  it  greatly,  and  would 
not  have  believed,  unless  he  had  seen  it,  that 
the  gully  could  have  filled  so  suddenly,  or 
could  have  been  so  rapidly  emptied. 

Yet  it  was  by  no  means  an  uncommon 
phenomenon. 

Imagine  a  tub  of  water  poured  into  a  small 
and  slanting  passage,  from  which  it  is  allowed 
to  run  out  freely,  and  you  have  just  such  a 
torrent  on  a  small  scale. 

As  soon  as  possible  the  two  comrades  de- 
scended to  the  bottom  of  the  gully,  and  there 
they  found  their  guns,  which  had  been  carried 
only  a  little  distance,  but  were  quite  useless 
for  the  present. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

A  JOURNEY    ON    SKATES. 

REJOICED  at  finding  themselves  safe,  though 
they  were  stiff  and  sore  and  weary,  Louis  and 
Harry  hastened  to  descend  the  mountain-side, 
being  anxious  to  reach  the  plain  below  before 
darkness  set  in. 

They  found  the  travelling  rather  difficult,  as 
the  brook  was  still  a  considerable  stream,  be- 
ing fed  by  the  drainings  of  the  cloudburst. 

They  were  gladdened  by  finding  their  blan- 
kets and  soon  the  bear's  pelt  near  the  foot  of 
the  mountain,  but  were  saddened  by  another 
occurrence,  which  was  nothing  less  than  the 
beginning  of  a  snow-storm. 

"We're  goin'  to  ketch  it  right  hard  now," 
said  Louis,  as  the  snow  flurries  came  fast  and 
furious. 

170 


A  JOURNEY  ON  SKATES.  iji 

With  the  snow  came  a  cold  wind,  chilling 
the  travellers  to  the  bone,  and  soon  the  flurries 
increased  to  a  blinding  storm. 

"What  are  we  going  to  do  about  this, 
Louis  ?  "  inquired  Harry.  "  Shall  we  ever  be 
able  to  find  our  way  back  to  camp  ? " 

"  We've  got  to,  my  boy.  Our  blankets  are 
wet  through,  and  our  clothes  are  wet  through, 
and  we  can't  afford  to  let  'em  freeze  on  us, 
and  so  we  must  go  ahead  and  keep  goin'  as 
fast  as  we  can." 

"  How   will   we   find    our   way  ? " 

"That's  easy  enough.  Jest  foller  the  creek 
till  we  come  to  the  lake.  For  that  matter,  we 
need  only  keep  the  wind  on  our  backs,  as  it 
blows  the  way  we  want  to  go." 

It  was  a  good  thing  for  the  two  that  they 
were  compelled  to  exercise  briskly,  as  rest 
would  have  meant  death  to  them. 

Being  obliged  to  keep  moving,  they  dragged 
their  tired  limbs  through  the  forest  as  rapidly 
as  they  could,  beating  their  garments  as  they 


IJ2  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

went,  to  keep  them  from  freezing  on  their 
bodies. 

The  night  was  not  very  dark,  in  spite  of 
the  blinding  snow-storm ;  so  it  was  not  a, 
difficult  matter  to  keep  the  line  of  the  creek, 
which  naturally  guided  them  to  the  lake,  and 
they  finally  reached  the  cabin. 

It  was  still  there,  though  it  showed  signs  of 
hard  usage,  and  the  canoe  had  been  drawn  up 
on  the  beach  and  turned  over,  and  there  could 
be  no  doubt  that  their  friends  were  safe. 

The  work  of  the  fire  was  visible  all  about, 
and  fallen  trees  were  smouldering  and  smoking 
here  and  there ;  but  the  cabin  had  been  spared, 
and  that  meant  shelter  and  rest  to  the  weary 
and  half-frozen  travellers. 

Louis  shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  and 
Santan  and  Ben  came  tumbling  out  of  the 
cabin,  rejoiced  beyond  measure  at  finding 
their  friends  alive. 

A  big  fire  was  made  outside,  in  spite  of 
the  snow,  and  that  which  had  lately  been  a 


A  JOURNEY  ON  SKATES.  jpro 

terrible  enemy  became  a  useful  servant,  dry- 
ing the  frozen  blankets  and  the  nearly  frozen 
garments,  and  the  two  stay-at-homes  made 
some  coffee  and  cooked  a  hot  meal,  while  the 
other  two  rested  in  the  cabin. 

All  felt  better  when  they  had  eaten  their 
late  supper,  and  both  parties  related  their 
experiences  with  fire  and  storm,  after  which 
they  lay  down  and  slept  soundly  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  cabin,  none  of  them  waking  until 
the  sun  was  nearly  three  hours  high. 

When  they  turned  out  at  last,  a  splendid 
sight  awaited  them,  and  there  was  a  great 
change  from  the  previous  day,  as  well  as 
from  the  previous  night. 

About  a  foot  of  snow  had  fallen,  which  had 
been  followed  by  a  sleet  storm  of  short  dura- 
tion, and  then  had  come  clear  and  freezing 
weather. 

In  the  morning  sun  the  trees  that  had  been 
left  by  the  fire  shone  with  glittering  coats  of 
ice,  bits  of  which  were  dropping  everywhere, 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

and  the  lake  was  covered  with  a  smooth  and 
glary  sheet  of  ice. 

The  campers,  invigorated  and  freshened  by 
the  keen  and  wholesome  air,  hastened  to  build 
a  fire  and  prepare  a  big  breakfast,  not  a  scrap 
of  which  did  they  leave  uneaten. 

"There  is  one  big  consolation  in  this," 
remarked  Ben,  "we  won't  be  troubled  any 
more  by  those  miserable  wretches  of  mos- 
quitoes." 

It  was,  indeed,  the  first  taste  of  winter; 
but  there  was  plenty  more  to  come,  and  the 
searchers  perceived,  to  their  sorrow,  that  they 
were  not  properly  provided  for  it. 

Their  clothing  was  comfortable,  but  not  nearly 
warm  enough  for  the  cold  weather  that  might 
be  shortly  expected,  and  their  stock  of  provis- 
ions was  running  short,  and  they  did  not  wish 
to  rely  for  food  upon  the  game  they  could  kill. 

They  could  not  suppose  that  the  order  which 
they  had  sent  home  from  Tim  Haley's  had 
brought  them  the  supplies  they  called  for  as 


A  JO  URNE  Y  ON  SKA  TES.  1 7  5 

there  had  not  been  time  enough  for  that ;  but 
they  might  at  least  get  provisions  at  Flagg's, 
and  it  was  possible  that  they  might  pick  up 
some  other  necessaries  there. 

As  the  canoe  could  no  longer  be  used,  they 
had  their  choice  of  two  ways  of  getting  to 
Flagg's. 

They  could  either  tramp  through  the  crusted 
snow,  or  wait  until  the  ice  got  strong  enough 
to  bear  them,  and  make  an  easier  and  quicker 
trip.  Just  then  the  ice,  though  smooth  and 
tough,  was  not  thick  enough  for  travelling ;  but 
it  was  believed  that  another  cold  night  would 
put  it  in  good  condition. 

Ben  and  Harry  had  been  thoughtful  enough 
to  include  in  their  outfit  a  pair  of  skates  for 
each,  and  they  were  very  glad  that  they  had 
done  so. 

Ben,  whose  turn  it  was  to  go  on  the  next 
excursion,  longing  for  a  chance  to  put  on  his 
skates,  favored  waiting  for  the  ice,  and  this 
was  decided  on,  as  it  would  be  necessary  to 


176  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

build  a  sled,  whichever  course  they  should 
take,  and  that  would  require  about  a  day's 
labor. 

A  rather  clumsy  sled,  but  a  stout  and  com- 
modious one,  was  cobbled  up  that  day  by 
Louis  and  Santan,  with  an  axe  and  a  hatchet 
and  their  knives  for  tools,  and  the.  Indian 
showed  considerable  "  Injunuity "  in  that  line 
of  business. 

In  the  meantime  Ben  and  Harry  roamed 
the  burnt  woods  near  by  in  pursuit  of  game, 
but  found  nothing,  as  the  forest  fire  seemed 
to  have  driven  away  every  winged  and  four- 
footed  creature. 

The  day  continued  clear,  melting  the  crust 
of  the  snow,  and  the  night,  as  Ben  hoped  it 
would  be,  was  clear  and  cold. 

At  sunrise  he  was  out  and  away  on  the  lake, 
stamping  on  the  ice,  and  trying  it  in  various 
ways,  until  he  pronounced  it  sufficiently  strong 
for  skating. 

The  others  were  of   the  same  opinion,   and 


A  JOURNEY  ON  SKATES.  ^7 

breakfast  was  speedily  prepared  and  eaten, 
so  that  Louis  and  Ben  might  have  an  early 
start. 

Louis  strapped  on  Harry's  skates,  which, 
though  small  for  him,  answered  the  purpose 
fairly  well,  and  they  started  off  together,  fol- 
lowed by  the  good-wishes  of  their  comrades, 
Louis  dragging  the  sled,  which  was  then 
loaded  only  with  their  guns. 

Their  plan  was  to  make  the  trip  to  Flagg's 
entirely  upon  skates,  hoping  to  find  the  ice  on 
the  Wassataquoik  in  good  condition,  and  in 
this  hope  they  were  not  disappointed. 

Both  on  the  lake  and  on  the  river  the  ice 
bore  them  well,  and  was  in  such  fine  order 
that  they  promised  themselves  a  quick  trip. 

They  did  make  a  quick  trip,  reaching 
Flagg's  fully  two  hours  sooner  than  they  had 
expected  to,  but  with  their  legs  pretty  well 
tired  by  the  unaccustomed  exercise  of  skating. 

Abner  Flagg,  as  he  told  them,  had  been 
badly  frightened  by  the  forest  fire ;  but  the 


1 78  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

rain  and  snow  had  happened  before  it  reached 
him,  and  he  had  suffered  no  damage. 

He  was  glad  to  see  Louis  and  his  young 
friend,  and  congratulated-  them  upon  the  es- 
cape of  their  party  from  the  perils  which  they 
had  lately  encountered. 

"  So  you're  goin'  to  stay  in  the  woods  all 
winter,"  said  he.  "  I'll  be  right  glad  o'  that, 
if  you  don't  git  too  far  away  from  me,  as 
decent  white  folks  are  sca'ce  in  these  parts." 

"We  are  not  at  all  sure  that  we  mean  to 
stay  here  through  the  winter,"  answered  Ben. 
"  We  had  not  expected  to  do  so,  and  the  win- 
ter has  struck  us  more  suddenly  than  we  had 
expected  it  to." 

"  That  so  ?  I  guessed  that  you  meant  to 
make  a  season  of  it,  and  there  was  a  good 
reason  back  of  the  guess,  too." 

"What  is  the  reason?" 

"  There's  a  lot  of  stuff  come  here  for  you, 
and  I  make  no  doubt  that  it's  winter  supplies." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

CHASED    BY    WOLVES. 

ABNER  FLAGG'S  statement  was  an  aston- 
isher  to  his  guests,  who  were  sure  that  the 
supplies  they  had  sent  for  could  not  possibly 
have  arrived  so  soon. 

That  was,  indeed,  impossible  ;  but  the 
"  stuff "  was  there,  and  with  it  had  come  a 
letter  which  explained  the  mystery. 

The  letter  was  from  Ben  Halstead's  father, 
who  was  used  to  the  ways  of  the  pine-woods, 
and  had  surmised  that  the  boys  might  be  ab- 
sent considerably  longer  than  they  had  ex- 
pected to  be.  Therefore  he  had  taken  advan- 
tage of  the  departure  of  a  caravan  of  drogers 
to  send  a  good  supply  of  winter  clothing  for 
Louis,  as  well  as  for  Ben  and  Harry. 

As    he    knew   just    what    they   needed,    the 

selection    was   as    good    as    could    have    been 
179 


l8o  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

made,  and  Mrs.  Halstead,  in  true  motherly 
fashion,  had  put  into  the  boxes  a  quantity  of 
home  delicacies,  which  she  was  sure  would  be 
appreciated  by  the  boys. 

The  drogers  were  directed  to  leave  the  goods 
at  Tim  Haley's,  with  instructions  to  Haley  to 
forward  them  to  the  searchers  as  soon  as  he 
could  find  out  where  they  were,  and  he,  in 
accordance  with  previous  directions,  had  sent 
them  right  on  to  Flagg's  by  the  same  caravan. 
So  they  had  made  a  remarkably  quick  trip. 

This  unexpected  and  surprising  piece  of 
good-luck  so  rejoiced  the  pair  of  skaters 
that  they  were  anxious  to  get  back  to  camp 
as  soon  as  possible  with  the  news  and  the 
necessaries. 

As  the  night  promised  to  be  clear,  and  there 
would  be  a  full  moon  to  light  them,  they  had 
no  hesitation  in  starting  away  as  soon  as  they 
could  load  the  sled,  though  it  was  not  likely 
that  they  would  be  able  to  reach  the  lake 
before  midnight. 


CHASED  BY   WOLVES.  l%l 

Abner  Flagg,  though  sorry  to  lose  his  guests, 
did  not  try  to  dissuade  them  from  this  course, 
as  he  did  not  consider  it  at  all  dangerous,  and 
there  was  no  reason  why  the  trip  should  not 
be  made  by  night,  as  well  as  in  the  daytime. 

As  their  conveyance  would  carry  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  abundant  supplies  that  had  been 
sent  to  them,  they  picked  out  such  articles 
as  would  be  soonest  needed,  strapped  them 
securely  on  the  sled,  and  set  out,  not  waiting 
for  Mr.  Flagg's  offer  of  an  early  supper. 

It  was  a  pleasant  trip  up  the  Wassataquoik, 
especially  as  they  had  such  joyful  anticipations 
as  the  bearers  of  good  news  to  their  friends, 
and  they  glided  over  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
ice  swiftly  and  easily,  but  without  hurrying  or 
wearying  themselves. 

Night  came  on,  and  then  the  full  moon, 
which  had  risen  above  the  tree-tops  before  it 
began  to  shine,  lent  a  wonderful  beauty  to  the 
scene,  and  it  seemed  to  Ben  as  if  they  were 
journeying  through  fairy-land. 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

He  praised  the  care  and  foresightedness  of 
his  father,  who  had  been  more  thoughtful  of 
them  than  they  had  been  of  themselves,  and 
spoke  warmly  of  the  loving  nature  of  his 
mother,  who  had  sent  such  pleasant  tokens  of 
her  remembrance  to  the  two  boys  in  the 
woods. 

All  he  could  have  asked  for  just  then  would 
have  been  a  telegraph-line  to  Bangor,  so  that 
he  could  send  them  his  thanks  for  their  kind- 
ness. 

The  night  air  was  cold,  but  no  wind  was 
blowing,  and  the  exercise  of  the  skaters  kept 
them  abundantly  warm  as  they  sped  up  the 
Wassataquoik. 

They  had  nearly  reached  the  lake  when 
there  arose  a  howl  from  the  shore  behind 
them  that  made  Ben  Halstead's  blood  run 
cold,  at  the  same  time  startling  him  so  that 
he  barely  escaped  falling. 

It  was  more  than  a  howl  —  it  was  a  yell  so 
wild  and  savage  and  cruel  that  even  the  guide 


CHASED  BY   WOLVES.  ^3 

shuddered,  though  he  well  knew  what  it  meant, 
or,  perhaps,  because  he  knew  what  it  meant. 

The  cry  of  a  wild-cat  was  a  mere  squall,  com- 
pared with  that  horrible  sound. 

"  What's  that,  Louis  ? "  hoarsely  whispered 
Ben. 

"Wolves,"  answered  the  guide.  "  We  must 
do  our  best  now." 

Both  took  hold  of  the  sled-rope,  and  their 
skates  moved  rhythmically  together,  and  the 
howls  behind  them  lent  speed  to  their  feet 
as  they  fairly  flew  over  the  smooth  surface  of 
the  river. 

When  the  howling  ceased  now  and  then, 
they  heard  the  snapping  of  twigs,  and  Louis, 
turning  his  head  an  instant,  saw  four  dark 
forms  tearing  through  the  forest  at  the  river's 
edge. 

Those  four  fierce  and  ravenous  beasts  were 
too  much  for  two  people  to  encounter;  but 
skates  were  splendid  for  rapid  motion,  and  the 
lake  was  near  at  hand. 


1 84  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

The  fugitives  knew  from  the  sounds  of  the 
throats  and  feet  behind  them  that  the  wolves 
were  gaining  on  them,  having  the  sure  footing 
of  the  shore,  and  they  made  yet  more  vigorous 
efforts  to  reach  the  broad  expanse  of  the 
lake  ;  but  the  loaded  sled  was  quite  a  hindrance 
to  their  progress. 

Just  as  they  sailed  out  from  the  narrow  river 
upon  the  lake,  the  wolves  left  the  shore,  and 
followed  them  on  the  ice. 

At  first,  as  the  wolves  tumbled  and  slipped 
in  their  headlong  plunge  from  the  land,  the 
skaters  got  a  good  start  ;  but,  if  Ben  Halstead 
had  supposed  that  the  smooth-footed  beasts 
could  not  travel  on  the  ice  quite  as  fast  as  he 
could  with  his  skates,  he  was  very  much  mis- 
taken. 

In  a  little  while  the  howling  told  the  fugi- 
tives that  their  fierce  pursuers  were  again 
nearing  them ;  and  then  came  a  period  of 
anxious  expectation  and  doubt. 

Ben  was  filled  with  the  thought  of  making 


CHASED  BY   WOLVES.  ^ 

fight,  while  Louis  seemed  to  think  of  nothing 
but  flight. 

Their  guns  were  strapped  on  the  sled  with 
the  goods,  but  each  of  them  carried  his 
revolver  on  his  person,  and  those  weapons 
would  be  useful  if  there  should  be  a  close 
struggle. 

"  What  shall  we  do,  Louis  ? "  asked  the  lad. 
"  Sha'n't  we  get  our  guns  and  fight  them 
off  ? " 

"  No  chance,  Ben.  They  would  be  tearin' 
us  before  we  could  unstrap  the  sled.  Come 
on!" 

Still  the  wolves  kept  gaining,  and  it  was 
evident  that  something  must  be  done. 

"We  must  drop  the  sled,"  said  Louis. 

"  The  wolves  will  ruin  our  things,"  protested 
Ben. 

"  No  fear  of  that.  They  don't  want  the 
stuff.  They  want  us.  Anyhow,  our  lives 
are  worth  more  to  us  than  the  goods.  Drop 
the  rope!" 


1 86  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

The  rope  was  dropped,  and  the  skaters,  re- 
lieved of  the  burden  they  were  dragging,  sped 
onward  more  swiftly  and  more  easily. 

But  the  wolves  were  detained  scarcely  an 
instant  by  the  abandoned  sled.  It  was  not 
what  they  wanted,  and  they,  too,  sped  forward 
swiftly  on  the  track  of  their  prey,  tireless 
in  the  race  for  blood. 

Again  they  gained  on  the  skaters  ;  but  the 
latter  were  by  this  time  in  sight  of  their 
cabin,  though  all  was  dark  there,  and  nobody 
was  in  sight. 

"  Can't  we  raise  them  up  at  the  cabin  ? " 
Ben  wanted  to  know.  "  They  would  hurry 
to  help  us  if  they  knew  the  fix  we  are  in." 

"We  don't  need  "em,"  answered  Louis. 
"  We're  goin'  to  have  fun  with  the  wolves 
now." 

"  Have  fun  ?  With  wolves  ?  What  on  earth 
do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  We've  got  em'  where  we  want  'em  now. 
Watch  me  close,  Ben,  and  do  jest  as  I  do. 


CHASED  BY   WOLVES.  i%j 

Git   your   pistol    out,    and    turn    when    I    say 
turn." 

The  wolves  came  so  near  them  that  the 
snapping  of  their  fierce  jaws  could  be  heard, 
and  then  Louis  said,  "Turn." 

Instantly  the  skaters  whirled  around,  doub- 
ling on  their  course,  but  out  of  the  way  of 
the  eager  wolves,  which  swept  by  them,  un- 
able to  make  the  turn  so  quickly,  slipping  and 
stumbling  in  frantic  efforts  to  get  on  the  track 
of  their  prey  again. 

But  they  did  not  go  by  undamaged,  as  two 
revolvers  cracked,  and  one  wolf  fell  dead,  and 
another,  badly  wounded,  sprawled  about  on 
the  ice. 

The  two  remaining  beasts  pounced  upon 
their  dead  and  wounded  comrades,  and  made 
short  work  of  the  task  of  reducing  them  to 
hair  and  bones. 

By  the  time  the  two  wolves  reached  them 
again,  the  skaters,  proceeding  leisurely,  had 
got  nearly  back  to  their  abandoned  sled. 


SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR, 


Turning  again  at  the  word,  they  fired  at  the 
wolves  as  they  passed,  wounding  them  both. 
Then  they  advanced  upon  them  boldly,  firing 
shot  after  shot,  until  the  last  of  their  enemies 
lay  dead  on  the  ice. 

"  We  couldn't  have  played  that  game  if  we'd 
been  bothered  by  the  sled,"  said  Louis. 

Ben  had  so  fully  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
the  thing,  when  he  understood  it,  that  he  was 
sorry  that  the  "  fun  "  was  over. 

They  picked  up  the  sled-rope,  and  skated  on 
to  the  cabin,  where  Harry  and  the  Indian,  who 
had  been  aroused  by  the  firing,  were  anxiously 
awaiting  them. 


"  They  fired  at  the  wolves  as  they  passed."  — Page  188. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

IN    THE   BIG    BASIN. 

AMONG  the  useful,  articles  with  which  the 
party  had  been  supplied  by  the  forethought  of 
Ben  Halstead's  father  were  three  pairs  of  snow- 
shoes,  for  Louis  and  the  boys. 

There  were  none  for  the  Indian ;  but  he  was 
well  able  to  make  his  own  snow-shoes,  and  he 
proceeded  to  build  a  pair. 

The  next  thing  was  to  train  the  lads  to  use 
them,  and  for  that  purpose  the  crusted  snow 
then  on  the  ground  was  just  the  thing. 

Ben  and  Harry  tied  on  their  snow-shoes,  and 
gave  it  as  their  opinion  that  practice  was  not 
needed,  as  there  was  no  art  in  walking  with 
those  appliances ;  but  when  they  saw  Louis 
move  swiftly  over  the  snow,  while  they  shuffled 
along  slowly  and  awkwardly,  they  admitted 
189 


ig0  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

that  there  was  an  art  in  it,  and  set  at  work  to 
learn  the  art. 

Considerably  more  supplies  had  been  sent 
than  they  needed,  —  at  least,  more  than  they 
needed  as  yet,  —  and  only  one  more  trip  to 
Flagg's  was  made,  to  bring  away  such  articles 
as  were  specially  required* 

Then  they  were  ready,  as  Ben  expressed  it, 
to  begin  the  campaign. 

Aside  from  the  hope  of  finding  Baptiste  and 
the  Star,  they  were  all  quite  willing  to  leave 
the  lake,  as  game  had  been  scarce  there  since 
the  forest  fire,  and  they  were  by  no  means 
inclined  to  live  on  "  tame  "  food  entirely. 

The  only  sport  they  had  was  got  by  fishing 
through  holes  cut  in  the  ice,  and  there  was  not 
much  fun  in  that,  though  it  yielded  some  fine 
fish. 

It  was  believed  that  they  would  find  plenty 
of  game  up  in  the  basin,  and  the  boys  were 
naturally  anxious  to  explore  that  wild  and 
strange  locality. 


IN  THE  BIG  BASIAT.  lgl 

In  the  meantime  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of 
snow ;  but  it  was  not  a  drifting  snow,  and  it 
soon  crusted  over,  making  fine  snow-shoe- 
travelling. 

Before  starting  they  made  everything  about 
the  cabin  as  safe  as  they  could,  though  it  was 
not  possible  at  that  season  to  cache  their  goods 
without  leaving  a  trail  that  could  easily  be 
found  by  man  or  beast. 

They  left  the  canoe  turned  bottom  upward 
and  covered  with  snow,  and  buried  the  greater 
part  of  their  "  stuff  "  inside  of  the  hut,  covering 
the  burial-place  with  their  couch  of  fir-boughs, 
and  blocking  up  the  door-way  with  logs  to  pre- 
vent the  entrance  of  predatory  beasts. 

The  worst  thieves  of  the  forest  —  the  bears 
and  the  prowling  Kanucks  —  were  by  that  time 
presumed  to  have  gone  into  winter-quarters 

The  searchers  put  on  their  heaviest  clothing, 
including  leggings  and  fur  caps,  strapped  blank- 
ets on  their  backs,  loaded  themselves  with 
provisions  and  a  few  cooking  utensils,  not 


!Q2  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

forgetting  a  couple  of  axes,  and  set  out  at 
the  beginning  of  a  day  that  promised  to  be 
clear  and  fine. 

It  was  impossible  for  them  to  judge  how 
long  they  might  expect  to  be  in  the  basin  ;  but 
they  were  determined  not  to  leave  it  until  they 
should  have  explored  it  thoroughly,  and  until 
Baptiste  Lafonce,  if  there,  should  be  found. 

If  he  had  gone  into  the  basin  to  spend  the 
winter  it  was  supposed  that  he  had  not  come 
out. 

Travelling  on  snow-shoes  is  nice  enough 
when  .the  snow  is  well  crusted,  and  when  the 
wearer  is  accustomed  to  the  use  of  the  long 
and  broad  but  light  appendages,  and  the  party 
of  four  made  good  speed  until  they  reached 
the  mountain,  though  the  creek  that  was  to 
guide  them  was  then  so  buried  in  snow  as  to 
be  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  rest  of 
the  landscape. 

As  for  ascending  the  steep  side  of  a  moun- 
tain on  snow-shoes,  that  is  out  of  the  question, 


IN  THE  BIG  BASIN.  JQ, 

as  the  act  of  sliding  uphill  has  not  yet  been  in- 
vented, and  to  climb  such  a  mountain  as 
Katahdin  in  the  winter  time,  even  if  only  a 
third  of  its  height,  is  a  serious  business. 

When  the  searchers  for  the  Star  had  reached 
the  point  where  the  bed  of  the  brook  led  up 
into  the  mountain,  —  though  there  was  then 
nothing  to  show  that  it  was  the  bed  of  a 
stream,  —  they  halted,  changed  their  snow- 
shoes  from  their  feet  to  their  backs,  and  be- 
gan to  beat  a  path  upward,  as  that  was  their 
only  means  of  making  the  ascent. 

Difficult  as  the  task  was,  it  was  mainly  a 
question  of  time,  and  much  can  be  done  by 
those  who  have  plenty  of  time  for  doing  it. 

Slowly  but  surely  they  forced  their  way  up 
the  steep,  Louis  and  Santan,  as  the  tallest 
and  heaviest,  taking  turns  at  going  in  the 
lead  and  breaking  the  path. 

Occasionally  they  stopped  to  rest,  and  the 
climb  around  some  of  the  places  where  water- 
falls might  have  been  consumed  no  small 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  STAR. 

amount  of  time ;  yet  they  gladly  perceived, 
when  they  finally  reached  the  basin,  that 
they  still  had  a  few  hours  of  daylight  to 
spare. 

This  was  highly  satisfactory,  as  they  wanted 
to  find  or  make  a  resting-place  for  the  night, 
and  they  hoped  to  discover  a  spot  bare  of 
snow,  or  a  chance  for  shelter  under  some  over- 
hanging cliff. 

So  they  put  on  their  snow-shoes,  and  sped 
gayly  away  toward  the  first  of  the  lakes,  which 
lay  at  a  little  distance  from  the  steep  north 
side  of  the  basin. 

Hardly  had  they  come  near  it  when  they 
perceived  something  that  was  more  attractive 
to  them  than  the  lake  or  any  of  the  rest  of 
their  surroundings. 

It  was  a  small  cabin  or  hut,  set  close  against 
the  cliff  that  rose  there  to  a  great  height,  and 
partly  sheltered  by  it. 

As  it  was  nearly  covered  by  snow,  it  might 
easily  have  been  mistaken  for  one  of  the 


IN  THE  BIG  BASIN.  j^ 

granite  blocks  that  were  scattered  about  the 
basin  ;  but  the  keen  eyes  and  quick  wits  of 
Louis  and  Santan  soon  spied  out  its  real 
character,  and  they  declared  it  to  be  a  human 
habitation.  Who  had  built  it,  and  what  was 
it  there  for,  and  who  were  or  had  been  its 
occupants  ? 

Anxious  to  find  an  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions, the  searchers  hastened  to  the  cabin,  and 
found  it  to  be  a  small  and  rudely  constructed 
affair,  but  with  a  pole-and-brush  roof  in  good 
order,  and  with  a  stick-and-clay  chimney  at 
one  end,  proving  it  to  be  a  reasonably  comfort- 
able abiding-place. 

The  supposition  was  that  it  had  been  erected 
by  some  party  of  hunters  or  explorers,  who 
had  abandoned  it  when  it  had  served  their 
purpose  ;  but  who  had  occupied  it  since  then  ? 

All  jumped  instantly  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  the  home  of  Baptiste  Lafonce  during 
his  sojourns  in  the  basin,  that  had  been  men- 
tioned by  more  than  one. 


196  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

If  so,  it  was  quite  possible  that  he  might 
then  be  occupying  it. 

But  the  explorers  speedily  settled  the  fact 
that  neither  he 'nor  any  other  person  was 
there,  as  there  was  no  trail  leading  to  the 
cabin,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  human  occu- 
pancy about  the  premises,  and  the  door  was 
blocked  up  by  snow.  » 

It  took  them  but  a  little  while  to  beat  a  path, 
clear  away  a  portion  of  the  snow,  and  force  an 
entrance  into  the  cabin. 

Inside,  its  appearance  was  cheerless  and 
deserted ;  but  Louis  and  Santan,  after  ex- 
amining it  closely  and  carefully,  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  had  recently  been  inhabited  ; 
they  could  not  say  just  how  recently,  but 
doubtless  within  a  few  weeks. 

Whoever  might  have  a  claim  upon  it,  the 
searchers  were  satisfied  with  the  fact  that  it 
would  be  a  convenient  home  and  headquarters 
for  them  while  they  remained  in  the  basin. 
So  they  were  glad  that  they  had  found  it, 


IN  THE  BIG  BASIN.  ^n 

and   did  not  hesitate  to  take  immediate  pos- 
session of  it. 

As  considerable  cut  wood  was  stored  there, 

9 

they  did  not  need  to  go  outside  for  fuel,  and 
supper  was  speedily  prepared,  and  all  were 
glad  enough  to  lie  down  to  rest  from  the 
fatigues  of  the  hard  day's  travel. 
*  About  the  middle  of  the  night,  Santan,  who 
was  the  lightest  sleeper  in  the  party,  was 
awakened  by  a  noise  outside. 

Supposing  that  some  wild  animal  was  prowl- 
ing about  and  trying  to  effect  an  entrance  for 
purposes  of  plunder,  he  took  his  rifle  and 
sallied  out. 

There  was  then  no  four-footed  animal  any- 
where near  the  cabin  ;  but  the  Indian  declared 
that  he  saw  a  man  "scooting"  off  at  a  dis- 
tance, who  soon  disappeared  among  the  trees. 

The  others,  who  had  neither  seen  nor  heard 
anything,  were  inclined  to  suspect  Santan  of 
romancing  ;  but  he  was  so  positive  in  his  state- 
ment that  it  was  finally  accepted. 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 


"  Perhaps,"  suggested  Ben,  "  it  was  the 
owner  of  this  house,  who  came  to  look  after 

his  property,  and  was  not  pleased  at  finding  us 

p 
in  possession." 

"  Mebbe  we  find  that  owner  afore  we  git 
through  here,"  observed  Louis. 

There  was  no  use  in  trying  to  follow  the 
prowler  at  night,  and  the  searchers  slept 
placidly  until  morning,  when  they  got  their 
breakfast  at  an  early  hour,  and  set  out  to 
explore  the  big  basin. 

Santan  pointed  out  the  direction  that  had 
been  taken  by  the  man  whom  he  declared  that 
he  had  seen,  and  he  and  Louis  found  what  they 
believed  to  be  a  trail. 

This  was  to  be  the  starting-point  of  the 
day's  exploration,  as  all  were  very  anxious  to 
get  within  seeing  and  speaking  distance  of 
the  midnight  visitor. 

Desire  was  one  thing,  however,  and  accom- 
plishment was  quite  another. 

The  basin  was  so  extensive,  and  so  largely 


IN   THE  BIG  BASIN. 

covered  by  forest  and  rock,  that  a  man  or  a 
number  of  men  might  easily  conceal  them- 
selves or  keep  out  of  the  way  of  observation, 
and  a  snow-shoe  trail  is  a  very  difficult  one  to 
follow. 

At  the  best,  it  is  faint  to  the  vision,  and  a 
slight  breeze  can  efface  it  by  blowing  particles 
of  snow  over  it,  and  the  glare  of  the  snow  when 
the  sun  is  shining  dazzles  the  eyes  of  the 
trailer. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 
BEN'S  MOOSE  —  AN  "INDIAN  DEVIL." 

THE  attempt  to  follow  the  snow-shoe  trail 
resulted,  as  might  have  been  expected,  in 
absolute  failure,  and  it  was  soon  abandoned, 
the  searchers  deciding  that  they  would  explore 
the  big  basin  by  crossing  it  from  side  to  side  in 
zigzag  fashion. 

This  would,  of  course,  leave  much  to  chance, 
as  a  man  who  was  aware  of  their  presence 
could  easily  keep  out  of  their  way  if  he  wished 
to,  and  it  was  to  be  supposed  that  their  mid- 
night visitor  did  wish  to  avoid  them. 

If  not,  he  would  surely  have  followed  them 
up  and  made  their  acquaintance  when  he  dis- 
covered that  the  cabin  was  occupied,  as  a  soli- 
tary man  in  that  wilderness  would  naturally 
rejoice  in  the  prospect  of  companionship. 


SJSJV'S  MOOSE— AN  "INDIAN  DEVIL."     2<DI 

If  the  solitary  man  happened  to  be  Baptiste 
Lafonce,  his  strange  behavior  would  be  easily 
accounted  for,  and  it  was  thus  that  the  search- 
ers accounted  for  it. 

On  the  supposition  that  their  zigzag  explo- 
ration might  amount  to  nothing,  they  had 
another  plan  to  follow  it,  intending  to  sep- 
arate when  they  reached  the  head  of  the 
basin,  and  work  their  way  down  to  the  pass 
by  which  they  had  entered,  keeping  only  within 
hailing  distance  of  each  other,  so  as  to  cut 
as  wide  a  swath  as  possible. 

The  execution  of  their  plan  of  exploration 
was  delayed  by  something  unexpected  in  the 
way  of  game. 

As  they  were  passing  the  edge  of  a  piece 
of  heavy  timber,  a  big  bull-moose  darted  out 
in  front  of  them. 

It  seemed  to  be  almost  a  sure  thing  that 
he  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  tl  eir  weapons, 
as  the  advantage  of  position  was  decidedly  on 
the  side  of  the  hunters. 


2Q2  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE   STAR. 

The  hoofs  of  the  moose  broke  through  the 
crusted  snow  at  every  step  he  took,  while 
their  snow-shoes  bore  them  on  top  of  it,  and 
made  locomotion  easy  for  them. 

Being  startled,  and  desirous  of  escaping 
from  the  strange  two-legged  creatures,  he  made 
long  leaps,  and  struggled  bravely  through  the 
snow,  but  made  little  progress  compared  with 
the  swift  movements  of  the  hunters. 

The  "antlered  monarch  of  the  forest"  seemed 
to  have  no  chance  against  his  human  antago- 
nists, who  already  counted  him  as  their 
own. 

At  least,  that  was  the  way  it  looked  to  them, 
and  three  bullets  would  at  once  have  pene- 
trated the  hide  of  the  moose  had  it  not  been 
for  Louis. 

"Don't  shoot!"  he  ordered.  "Give  Ben  a 
chance  at  him  alone.  This  is  his  moose." 

It  seemed  to  be  nothing  more  than  fair  that 
this  moose  should  belong  to  Ben,  as  Harry  had 
secured  one,  and  it  was  instantly  agreed  that 


BEN 'S  MOOSE  —  AN  "  INDIAN  DE  VI L."    203 

the  elder  lad  ought  to  have  a  chance  at  the 
"big  game." 

Ben  was  more  than  glad  to  get  the  chance, 
as  he  had  not  ceased  envying  Harry  the  pos- 
session of  his  splendid  head  and  antlers,  and 
here  was  another  of  the  same  sort,  with  a  head 
and  antlers  which  appeared  to  be  quite  equal  to 
those  which  Harry  owned. 

Harry  had  killed  his  moose  with  the  help 
of  Santan  ;  but  Ben's  idea  was  that  he  would 
be  solely  responsible  for  the  death  of  this 
one. 

In  this  calculation  the  lad  reckoned  without 
his  host,  —  at  least,  without  his  moose,  —  as 
it  was  to  be  supposed  that  the  noble  beast 
"might  take  a  hand  in  the  game"  if  he  should 
perceive  that  his  life  depended  on  his  ex- 
ertions. 

Ben  set  at  work  without  waiting  for  his 
own  thoughts  or  anybody's  else. 

Easily  sailing  up  to  the  jumping  moose  on 
his  snow-shoes,  he  ranged  alongside  of  the 


204  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE 

noble  game,  and  sent  a  bullet  into  his  body, 
just  behind  his  left  shoulder. 

The  aim  was  good,  and  the  blood  spurted 
out  at  every  jump  the  wounded  animal 
made. 

Ben  rushed  another  cartridge  into  his  rifle- 
barrel,  and  again  fired  quickly,  this  time  aiming 
at  the  head  of  his  game. 

This  shot,  which  struck  where  Ben  had  in- 
tended it  should  strike,  made  the  moose  frantic, 
and  he  turned  suddenly,  and  charged,  as  well 
as  the  crusted  snow  would  allow  him  to,  at 
his  puny  antagonist. 

The  lad  was  physically  as  well  as  mentally 
upset  by  this  unexpected  rush,  and  he  slipped, 
and  toppled  over,  breaking  through  the  crust 
of  the  snow. 

Instantly  Harry  and  Santan,  who  had  been 
content  with  watching  the  proceedings  thus 
far,  stepped  forward  and  fired  two  shots  into 
the  moose,  and  Louis,  swooping  by  on  his 
snow-shoes,  picked  up  Ben  by  the  coat-collar, 


BEN'S  MOOSE  — AN  "INDIAN  DEVIL."    205 

and  dragged  him  out  of  the  reach  of  the  in- 
furiated beast. 

There  was  little  chance  for  the  moose  then, 
and  he  seemed  to  know  that  his  time  had 
come. 

Though  the  four  bullets  in  his  body  had  not 
killed  him,  they  had  seriously  weakened  him, 
and  he  made  no  more  plunges  into  the  crusted 
snow,  but  lunged  feebly  at  the  hunters  when 
they  were  quite  out  of  his  reach. 

Ben,  though  somewhat  crestfallen  at  the 
result  of  his  first  attempt,  came  to  the  attack, 
and  his  next  bullet  settled  the  case  of  the 
moose  by  opening  his  jugular  vein  and  pass- 
ing through  his  neck. 

The  moose,  after  vainly  endeavoring  to  keep 
his  feet,  sank  down  in  the  snow,  and  Santan 
jumped  on  him  and  finished  the  work  with  a 
knife. 

Moose-meat  was  wanted  by  the  party,  and 
Ben  was  above  all  things  anxious  to  secure  the 
head  and  the  splendid  antlers.  Therefore  the 


206  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

work  of  skinning  and  cutting  up  the  "big 
game,"  together  with  carrying  to  the  cabin 
such  portions  of  the  meat  as  were  wanted, 
put  a  stop  for  a  while  to  the  exploration  of 
the  basin,  and  more  than  an  hour  had  passed 
when  the  searchers  were  able  to  settle  down  to 
their  work  again. 

Then  it  occurred  to  Louis,  though  he  should 
have  thought  of  it  sooner,  that  it  was  not 
worth  while  to  try  to  shut  anybody  up  in  a 
trap  when  the  door  of  the  trap  was  left  open. 

Somebody  ought  to  go  down  to  the  pass  and 
keep  guard  there,  even  if  it  should  be  necessary 
to  divide  the  party  for  that  purpose. 

Harry  Russell  volunteered  for  the  duty  of 
watching  the  gap,  and  it  was  settled,  after  a 
little  discussion,  that  he  should  go  down  there, 
Santan  promising  to  join  him  as  soon  as  he 
should  have  taken  the  last  piece  of  moose-meat 
to  the  cabin. 

So  the  party  separated,  Louis  and  Ben  set- 
ting out  to  follow  the  original  plan,  while 


BEN'S  MOOSE  — AN  "INDIAN  DEVIL."    2O/ 

Harry  started  back  toward  the  gap  and  the 
Indian  went  over  to  the  cabin. 

But  the  biggest  adventure  of  the  day  was 
to  come,  and  Harry  was  to  be  the  first  to 
strike  it. 

When  this  adventure  came  to  him,  he  had 
got  out  of  sight  of  his  companions,  and  was 
gliding  along  easily  on  his  snow-shoes,  feeling 
that  there  was  no  special  hurry,  and  looking 
out  for  game  rather  than  hastening  to  the  gap. 

He  found  game  that  he  was  not  expecting  or 
wishing  to  find. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  more  proper  to  say  that 
the  game  found  him,  as  it  was  the  kind  of  game 
that  was  fond  of  hunting  a  hunter. 

Suddenly  there  appeared  before  him,  spring- 
ing out  from  a  clump  of  fir-trees,  an  animal 
that  was  like  but  unlike  anything  he  had  ever 
before  seen. 

It  was  something  like  a  wild-cat,  but  an 
enormous  or  exaggerated  wild-cat,  being  prob- 
ably four  feet  high  and  fully  six  feet  in  length, 


208  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

with  a  tail  which  hung  down  to  the  ground,  and 
which  it  waved  after  the  manner  of  a  cat. 

The  beast  was  a  dark  mouse-color  on  the 
back,  shading  off  lighter  at  the  sides  and  al- 
most white  underneath,  and  its  large  head  was 
fastened  to  its  broad  shoulders  by  a  short  and 
thick  neck. 

Its  expression  was  one  of  extreme  savage- 
ness,  the  open  mouth  displaying  a  fine  set  of 
long  and  sharp  teeth,  and  a  fierce  fire  darting 
from  the  catlike  eyes. 

Evidently  it  was  a  creature  of  great  strength 
as  well  as  of  great  ferocity,  and  Harry  Russell, 
remembering  the  guide's  description  of  the 
"  Indian  devil,"  was  not  at  a  loss  for  a  name 
for  it. 

He  did  not  doubt  that  he  was  then  con- 
fronted by  a  veritable  "  Indian  devil." 

What  should  he  do  ?  Should  he  show  fight 
and  try  to  kill  it,  or  turn  and  fly. 

The  beast  settled  this  question  on  sight  by 
springing  toward  him,  the  jump  covering  a 


BEN'S  MOOSE  — AN  "INDIAN  DEVIL."    2OQ 

space  of  fully  ten  feet,  and  it  was  clear  that 
the  creature  might  have  done  better  if  the 
snow  had  allowed  him  a  good  foothold. 

Flight  from  such  leaps  would  have  been  well 
nigh  impossible,  and  the  lad  was  forced  to  fight. 

Taking  a  quick  aim  with  his  gun,  he  fired 
the  rifle-barrel  just  at  the  close  of  the  leap. 

The  shot  was  a  good  one,  but  the  wound 
was  far  from  mortal. 

At  first  the  "devil,"  hurt  and  angered,  doubled 
itself  up,  howling,  scratching,  and  biting  at  the 
air,  while  the  snow  was  discolored  by  its  blood. 

Almost  immediately  Harry  fired  his  other 
barrel,  which  was  loaded  with  buck-shot,  at  the 
body  of  the  beast,  and  turned  and  sped  away 
as  fast  as  his  snow-shoes  could  carry  him.  , 

His  speed  was  not  sufficient  to  take  him  out 
of  the  reach  of  the  furious  monster,  which  the 
second  shot  seemed  to  have  started  into  fresh 
and  more  vigorous  action. 

With  great  leaps,  as  if  its  wounds  were  noth- 
ing, it  sprang  forward,  rapidly  closing  the  gap. 


2io  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Another  spring  would  have  landed  it  on  the 
lad's  back  when  there  was  a  shot  close  at 
hand,  and  another  bullet  bored  its  way  into 
the  body  of  the  beast. 

After  the  manner  of  its  kind,  it  turned  in- 
stantly to  attack  the  new  antagonist. 

Harry  also  turned  as  soon  as  he  could  stop 
his  speed,  supposing  that  Santan  had  come  to 
his  rescue ;  but  he  saw  at  once  that  it  was  not 
Santan  who  had  arrived  so  opportunely. 

It  was  a  man  on  snow-shoes,  of  small 
stature,  and  nearly  as  dark  as  the  Indian,  and 
just  as  the  lad  perceived  him  an  accident  oc- 
curred to  him. 

One  of  his  snow-shoes  caught  in  a  break  in 
the  crust,  and  he  stumbled  and  fell. 

Before  Harry  could  act  or  even  think,  the 
terrible  beast  had  seized  the  prostrate  man, 
and  was  biting  and  tearing  him. 

One  cry  of  anguish  the  victim  uttered,  and 
that  was  his  last. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

FINDING    THE    STAR. 

HARRY  did  not  even  stop  to  thrust  a  car- 
tridge into  his  empty  gun,  but  drew  his  re- 
volver, and  hastened  to  the  rescue  of  his 
rescuer. 

No  doubt,  he  was  too  late,  as  the  monster's 
attack  had  been  almost  instantly  fatal  ;  but 
the  brave  boy  was  determined  to  do  his  best. 

He  sped  direct  to  the  spot  where  the  brute 
was  tearing  its  victim,  its  head  rendered  yet 
more  hideous  by  the  human  blood  that  covered 
it  and  dripped  from  the  savage  jaws,  and  at 
the  shortest  possible  range  fired  shot  after 
shot  into  the  big  body. 

The  maddened  beast  turned  upon  this  fresh 
fighter,  and  the  last  chamber  of  Harry's  re- 
volver was  emptied  into  one  of  its  eyes. 


212  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Even  this  did  not  kill  the  "  devil  "  or  sensi- 
bly reduce  his  strength  and  energy,  and  the 
fearless  lad  might  not  have  been  able  to  es- 
cape the  claws  of  the  creature  had  there  not 
been  another  opportune  arrival. 

This  time  it  was  indeed  Santan,  who  came 
sailing  over  the  crusted  snow  at  an  amazing 
rate  of  speed. 

Without  stopping  to  inspect  the  situation 
or  calculate  the  chances,  but  seeing  only  that 
Harry  was  in  deadly  peril,  he  ranged  along- 
side of  the  beast,  thrust  the  muzzle  of  his  rifle 
against  the  "devil's"  ear,  and  sent  a  bullet 
spinning  through  its  brain. 

Then  he  clubbed  his  rifle,  prepared  to  sacri- 
fice his  beloved  weapon  to  the  duty  of  smash- 
ing the  skull  of  the  creature,  if  that  should  be 
necessary. 

It  was  not  necessary.  The  Indian's  shot 
had  finally  made  an  end  of  the  contest,  and 
the  monster  rolled  over,  though  it  clung  to  life 
with  catlike  tenacity,  its  dying  struggles  bury- 


FINDING    THE  STAR. 

ing  it  in  the  snow,  which  it  crimsoned  with 
its  blood. 

Harry  grasped  the  hand  of  his  red  friend, 
and  the  two  gazed  at  the  then  harmless  "devil," 
both  thankful  for  the  escape  of  one. 

Just  then  Louis  Hameau  reached  them, 
almost  flying  on  his  snow-shoes. 

He  had  heard  two  shots  in  quick  succession, 
and  had  at  once  guessed  that  something 
unusual  had  happened  to  Harry. 

Bidding  Ben  to  follow  as  well  as  he  could, 
he  turned  instantly  and  hastened  back,  the 
subsequent  shots  adding  speed  to  his  feet. 

He  had  scarcely  learned  what  had  happened, 
when  Ben  arrived,  almost  breathless  from  his 
rapid  run,  and  then  the  story  was  fully  told. 

"And  the  man  who  came  to  your  help  was 
killed,"  said  Ben.  "I  wonder  who  he  can  be." 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  Harry.  "I  only 
know  that  he  gave  his  life  for  mine." 

"  Mebbe  it's  the  man  we've  been  lookin'  for." 

All   approached   the   dead    man    slowly   and 


214  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

reverently,     and     found     him     so     shockingly 
mangled  that  he  was  a  sickening  sight. 

It  seemed  that  the  maddened  brute  had 
seized  him  by  the  back  of  the  neck  as  he 
fell,  crushing  his  life  out  so  quickly  that  he 
could  utter  but  one  cry. 

Then  it  had  torn  the  flesh  in  strips  from  his 
back  and  sides,  and  had  been  feeding  rav- 
enously when  its  enjoyment  was  interrupted 
by  Harry  and  his  revolver. 

Harry  shuddered  when  he  thought  how 
nearly  he  had  escaped  such  a  fearful  fate. 

The  dead  man  was  lying  with  his  face  in 
the  snow,  and  Louis  and  Santan  turned  him 
over  carefully. 

Exclamations  of  astonishment  burst  from  the 
lips  of  all  the  four,  and  they  were  not  caused 
by  any  disfigurement  of  the  man's  face,  as  his 
back  only  had  been  mangled  by  the  brute. 

"Baptiste  Lafonce  !  "  cried  Louis. 

"The  man  with  the  Star!"  exclaimed  the 
Indian. 


The  dead  man  was  lying  with  his  face  in  the  snow."  — Page  214. 


FINDING    THE  STAR.  2l$ 

"  I  thought  of  Baptiste  when  I  saw  him," 
said  Harry  ;  "  but  it  was  such  a  little  glimpse 
I  had  of  him  that  I  couldn't  even  guess  at  who 
he  was." 

Yes,  it  was  Baptiste  Lafonce,  and  he  was 
dead,  and  he  had  lost  his  life  in  saving  the  life 
of  Harry  Russell. 

How  had  he  happened  to  be  there,  and  what 
had  prompted  him  to  risk  an  encounter  with 
that  monster  ? 

Had  he  known  who  the  people  were  who  had 
entered  the  basin  and  taken  possession  of  the 
cabin  under  the  cliff  ? 

If  so,  he  had  undoubtedly  endeavored  to 
avoid  them,  and  had  probably  been  on  his 
way  out  when  he  found  Harry  in  trouble  and 
went  to  his  rescue. 

Had  he  been  impelled  to  this  by  his  old 
friendship  for  the  lad,  or  had  he  been  stricken 
by  remorse  for  the  wrong  he  had  done  the  Hal- 
stead  family  ? 

As  it  was  impossible  to  decide  this  point,  the 


2i6  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

party  tacitly  agreed  to  put  the  best  construc- 
tion they  could  upon  the  acts  of  the  man  who 
had  so  bravely  met  such  a  terrible  death. 

.It  was  Santan  who  gave  words  to  a  thought 
which  was  in  the  breasts  of  all,  but  which  none 
of  the  others  was  at  all  eager  to  express. 

"  Mebbe  he  got  um  Star  wid  urn,"  observed 
the  Indian. 

It  seemed  to  be  a  rather  heartless  proceeding 
to  search  for  stolen  property  the  body  of  a  man 
who  had  died  such  a  death  ;  but  he  was 
beyond  all  physical  and  mental  feeling,  and 
it  was  right  that  the  Star,  if  it  was  still  in  his 
possession,  should  be  reclaimed  by  those  to 
whom  it  belonged. 

Louis  undertook  the  task  of  making  the 
search,  and  he  had  scarcely  laid  his  hand  on 
the  dead  man's  breast  when  he  felt  something 
hard,  and  his  face  lighted  up  as  if  he  had  made 
a  discovery. 

Under  his  heavy  woollen  outer  coat  the 
Canadian  wore  a  buckskin  jacket,  and  in  an 


FINDING    THE   STAR. 

inside  pocket,  tightly  sewed  up,  was  the  hard 
substance. 

Louis  ripped  open  the  pocket,  and  brought 
out  a  small  ebony  box,  which  was  at  once 
recognized  by  Ben  and  Harry  as  the  usual 
receptacle  of  the  Star. 

It  was  opened,  and  there  was  the  jewel,  safe, 
uninjured,  and  shining  as  brightly  as  when  it 
lay  on  Mrs.  Halstead's  dressing-case  or  was 
fastened  upon  her  breast. 

The  Star  was  recovered,  but  the  tragedy  that 
had  preceded  its  recovery  seriously  interfered 
with  the  joy  that  might  have  been  manifested. 

Though  there  was  still  much  for  the  party  to 
do,  the  main  object  of  the  expedition  had  been 
accomplished,  and  Ben  and  Harry  might  easily 
be  pardoned  if,  even  in  the  presence  of  the 
dead  man,  they  anticipated  a  joyful  and  tri- 
umphant return  to  their  home. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  care  for  the 
body  of  Baptiste  and  give  it  as  decent  a  burial 
as  they  could. 


2i8  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

Ben  Halstead  persuaded  Louis  to  make  a  more 
thorough  search  of  the  dead  Canadian's  person, 
in  the  hope  that  something  might  be  found  that 
would  give  a  clew  to  his  home  or  his  people. 

There  was  nothing  of  the  kind,  and  it 
seemed  that  the  only  chance  of  getting  infor- 
mation of  the  manner  of  his  death  to  his 
relations  lay  in  finding  his  brother-in-law,  who 
had  twice  been  met  by  the  searchers. 

A  brush  drag  was  speedily  prepared,  upon 
which  Baptiste's  body  was  made  fast,  and  was 
hauled  over  the  snow  to  the  cabin. 

Finding  a  spot  bare  of  snow  near  the  wall 
of  the  basin,  the  searchers  dug  with  difficulty 
a  grave  in  the  frozen  ground,  and  there  the 
Canadian  was  laid  to  rest,  Harry  shedding 
plentiful  tears  over  the  grave  of  the  man  who 
had  died  to  save  him. 

A  section  of  a  sapling  was  blazed  as  a  head- 
board, and  was  securely  sunk  in  the  earth,  after 
the  dead  man's  initials  had  been  rudely  cut  on 
the  blaze. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

FAREWELL    TO    THE   WOODS. 

THE  brief  remainder  of  the  day,  after  the 
burial  of  Baptiste,  was  devoted  to  preparations 
for  leaving  the  basin,  and  to  the  important 
business  of  supper,  and  a  good  night's  rest 
put  the  searchers  in  proper  trim  for  a  hard 
clay's  travel. 

As  it  was  thought  proper  that  Ben  Halstead 
should  carry  the  Star  home,  Louis  secured  it  in 
an  inside  pocket  of  the  lad's  inner  jacket, 
pretty  much  as  it  had  been  fastened  to  his 
clothing  by  Baptiste. 

Taking  an  early  start,  and  carrying  a  portion 
of  the  moose-meat  in  addition  to  the  rest  of 
their  load,  they  swiftly  made  their  way  back  to 
the  gap  on  their  snow-shoes,  and  found  it  a 
much  easier  matter  to  descend  the  mountain 
than  it  had  been  to  work  up  the  pass. 
219 


22O  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

From  the  foot  of  the  mountain  they  made 
good  speed  over  the  plain,  reaching  their  camp 
on  the  lake  at  an  early  hour  of  the  afternoon. 

There  they  hastened  to  prepare  the  delayed 
dinner,  which  they  ate  with  enormous  appe- 
tites. 

At  the  camp  they  found  everything  as  they 
had  left  it,  though  there  were  indications  that 
wild  animals  had  been  trying  to  get  into  the 
cabin,  by  way  of  the  roof  as  well  as  through 
the  blockaded  door. 

As  it  was  then  settled  that  they  were  not 
to  spend  the  winter  in  the  woods,  the  boys 
and  Louis  were  anxious  to  get  home  as  soon 
as  possible,  not  only  to  declare  the  result  of 
the  search  for  the  Star,  but  to  avoid  the  serious 
discomforts  of  which  they  had  already  had  a 
sufficient  experience. 

The  means  of  getting  down  the  river  gave 
them  no  uneasiness,  as  they  did  not  doubt 
that  at  that  time  of  the  year  they  would  soon 
find  a  caravan  of  returning  drogers  or  other 


FAREWELL    TO    THE    WOODS.  22I 

teamsters,  who,  going  back  without  a  load, 
would  be  glad  to  take  them  as  passengers. 

There  was,  however,  one  serious  matter  of 
discussion. 

They  were  quite  unwilling  to  abandon  their 
canoe  there  in  the  wilderness,  and  they  had 
lately  received  a  quantity  of  clothing  and  other 
supplies,  which  their  Yankee  thrift  would  not 
allow  them  to  throw  away. 

Ben  Halstead  then  came  to  the  front  with 
an  idea  that  was  almost  immediately  accepted 
and  acted  on. 

It  may  as  well  be  stated  here  that  experience 
had  caused  the  party  to  settle  on  Ben  as  the 
lad  of  ideas  and  Harry  as  the  lad  of  action. 

Ideas  and  action  are  each  very  well  in  their 
way,  and  sometimes  the  one  is  the  more 
valuable  or  available  than  the  other;  but  it 
is  an  excellent  thing  when  the  two  can  be 
combined  in  the  same  person. 

Ben's  idea  was  that  the  canoe  should  be 
put  upon  runners  —  say  a  couple  of  bob-sleds 


222  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

—  and  that  the  entire  effects  of  the  party 
should  be  transported  in  it  to  Flagg's  or  any 
other  point  at  which  they  might  secure  a  con- 
veyance for  the  party. 

This  was  a  very  simple  idea  —  so  simple, 
indeed,  that  the  others  wondered  that  they 
had  not  thought  of  it  before  Ben  brought 
it  out. 

The  party  already  owned  one  bob-sled, — 
that  which  had  been  used  in  the  two  trips 
to  Flagg's  for  supplies,  —  and  it  was  an  easy 
matter  to  make  another  one. 

Another  sled  was  made,  and  upon  both  the 
canoe  was  securely  set,  and  the  "stuff"  that 
had  been  buried  in  the  cabin  was  unearthed, 
and  the  queer  conveyance  was  loaded  with 
all  the  belongings  of  the  party,  including 
Harry's  and  Ben's  moose-antlers,  which  were 
the  most  prized  trophies  of  the  expedition,  next 
to  the  recovered  Star. 

A  couple  of  ropes  were  attached  to  this  con- 
trivance, and  the  four  men  and  boys  hauled  it 


FAREWELL    TO    THE    WOODS. 

merrily  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wassata- 
quoik,  where  they  were  heartily  welcomed  by 
Abner  Flagg,  who  listened  with  interest  to  the 
story  of  their  recent  adventures,  and  promised 
to  do  his  best  to  make  them  comfortable  and 
send  them  on  to  Bangor. 

Their  chance  to  get  home  seemed  to  be  a 
good  one,  as  some  teamsters  who  had  lately 
brought  up  supplies  and  extra  hands  for  Whit- 
by's  logging-camp  were  expected  soon  to  re- 
turn, and  of  course  would  be  glad  to  take 
the  party  and  their  outfit  as  passengers  and 
freight. 

As  it  might  be  a  few  days  before  this  cara- 
van would  be  coming  along,  there  would  be 
time  for  visiting  Whitby's  camp  and  making 
inquiries  concerning  Baptiste's  brother-in-law, 
Dan  Withers. 

Accordingly,  Louis  Hameau  and  Ben  Hal- 
stead  donned  their  snow-shoes  and  set  out  for 
the  logging-camp,  which  was  the  same  which 
they  had  previously  visited,  though  it  had 


224 


THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 


since  become  more  extensive  and  more  thickly 
populated. 

They  were  warmly  welcomed  by  Marvin 
Driggs  and  his  "  gang,"  and  their  adventures 
were  considered  highly  exciting,  even  by  those 
experienced  woodsmen  ;  but  only  to  the  "boss" 
did  Ben  Halstead  confide  the  story  of  the 
recovery  of  the  Star,  and  his  present  posses- 
sion of  that  valuable  jewel. 

To  inquiries  concerning  Dan  Withers  Mr. 
Driggs  could  only  reply  that  he  did  not  know 
what  had  become  of  the  man. 

"  Dan  came  back  here,"  said  he,  "  a  couple 
of  days  after  you  two  left  us  ;  but  I  dis- 
charged him  right  out  of  hand.  I  told  him 
that  I  wanted  no  man  about  me  who  couldn't 
be  depended  on,  who  would  go  off  and  stay 
for  days  without  giving  me  notice.  So  he 
went  away,  and  since  then  I  have  seen  noth- 
ing of  him." 

u  Do  you  know  where  he  went  to  ? "  Louis 
asked. 


FAREWELL    TO    THE    WOODS.  22$ 

"  No  ;  but  I  -  am  likely  to  see  him  before 
the  season  is  over,  or  to  hear  of  him,  anyhow, 
and  I  may  be  able  to  let  him  know  about  the 
death  of  his  brother-in-law." 

The  teamsters  were  nearly  ready  to  start 
on  their  return  trip,  as  they  had  only  wanted 
a  little  rest  for  themselves  and  their  cattle, 
and  Hiram  Halstead's  son  had  no  difficulty  in 
engaging  passage  for  his  party  and  their  prop- 
erty as  far  as  Oldtown. 

Santan  found  employment  that  suited  him 
at  Whitby's  camp,  and  concluded  to  remain 
there  and  work  during  the  logging  season. 

He  was  not  only  liberally  paid  for  his  ser- 
vices, but  was  informed  that  such  of  the  party's 
extra  supplies  as  they  thought  he  might  need 
would  be  left  at  Flagg's  for  him. 

Thus  he  soon  came  into  possession  of  con- 
siderable portable  property,  and  it  may  here 
be  stated  that  Harry  Russell,  who  believed 
that  his  life  had  been  twice  saved  by  the 
Indian,  subsequently  sent  him  from  Bangor 


226  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

a  rifle  of  which  Santan  might  justly  be 
proud. 

Louis  and  Ben  accompanied  the  teamsters 
down  to  Flagg's,  where  the  canoe  and  the  rest 
of  the  outfit  were  loaded  on  the  teams. 

Then  the  searchers  for  the  Star,  bidding 
Abner  Flagg  a  kindly  good-bye,  joyfully 
started  on  their  return  journey. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

HOME    AGAIN. 

THE  homeward  journey  was  necessarily 
somewhat  tedious  by  ox-team,  as  the  cattle, 
though  patient  and  reliable,  were  slow  in  their 
movements. 

It  was  enlivened,  however,  by  hunting  along 
the  route,  in  which  Harry  Russell  frequently 
showed  his  dexterity,  increasing  his  reputation 
as  "'a  born  hunter." 

It  was  enlivened,  also,  by  occasional  break- 
downs and  by  obstacles  on  the  road  ;  but  the 
most  enlivening  incident  was  one  which,  as 
Ben  Halstead  expressed  it,  came  near  being  a 
deadening  one. 

This  happened  at  the  crossing  of  the  Piscata- 
quis,  where  a  few  days  of  warm  and  thawing 
weather  had  weakened  the  ice  so  that  the  pros- 
227 


228  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

pect  of  getting  over  with  the  teams  looked 
rather  dubious. 

At  first  the  belief  was  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  camp  there  and  wait  for  colder 
weather  and  better  ice ;  but  the  teamsters 
finally  concluded  to  make  the  venture,  pro- 
ceeding as  carefully  as  possible. 

A  light  yoke  of  cattle  was  detached  from 
the  forward  team  and  sent  ahead  to  try  the 
ice,  and  these  were  followed  by  a  heavier  yoke 
from  the  second  team. 

Then  both  teams  started  across,  pretty  well 
separated,  so  as  to  distribute  the  load  over  a 
considerable  space  of  ice,  and  the  men  and 
boys  walked  beside  them,  the  teamsters  direct- 
ing and  encouraging  the  oxen. 

As  the  procession  filed  over  the  weakened  ice, 
it  cracked  and  "  buckled,"  as  the  loggers  say, 
and  the  crossing  seemed  to  be  so  risky  that 
Louis  cautioned  the  two  lads  to  keep  away  from 
the  teams,  lest  they  should  be  involved  in  the 
catastrophe  if  one  of  them  should  break  through. 


HOME  AGAIN.  22Q 

Harry  heeded  this  advice ;  but  Ben  had  just 
stepped  to  the  rearmost  team  to  .get  something 
he  wanted,  when  the  ice  gave  way  at  that 
point,  and  the  team  was  instantly  floundering 
in  the  water. 

As  they  would  have  had  but  a  little  distance 
further  to  go  to  reach  the  southern  shore,  this 
was  peculiarly  annoying  to  the  teamsters ;  but 
they  lost  no  time  in  endeavoring  to  repair  the 
damage. 

The  advance  team  was  hurried  forward  out 
of  harm's  way,  and  two  men  sprang  upon  the 
edge  of  the  broken  ice,  each  grasping  one  of 
the  oxen  by  the  horns  to  keep  his  head  out  of 
the  water. 

Then  the  pair  was  unyoked,  and  a*  rope  was 
fastened  to  the  horns  of  one  of  them  and  taken 
to  the  yoke  of  light  oxen. 

A  strong  man  lifted  the  ox,  at  the  same  time 
pressing  down  the  ice  until  he  could  get  the 
shoulders  of  the  chilled  but  patient  beast  on 
the  edge,  and  at  a  signal  the  warp  oxen  were 


230  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

started  ahead,  pulling  the  big  one  out  on  the 
ice,  where  he  was  got  upon  his  feet  and  hurried 
to  the  shore. 

The  excitement  attending  the  accident  had 
at  first  prevented  his  friends  from  noticing  the 
fact  that  Ben  Halstead  was  not  visible  ;  but 
they  raised  clamor  enough  when  his  disappear- 
ance was  noted. 

It  was  learned  that  when  he  was  last  seen 
he  was  standing  close  to  the  team  that  broke 
through  the  ice,  and  of  course  he  must  have 
gone  in  with  it. 

Louis  called  him  and  searched  for  him,  but 
neither  saw  nor  heard  anything  of  the  lad. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  he,  though  a 
good  swimmer,  had  been  carried  under  the  ice, 
and  that  surely  meant  certain  death. 

The  guide  sank  upon  his  knees,  as  he  had 
done  at  the  time  of  the  tornado  on  the  Penob- 
scot,  and  tears  streamed  from  his  eyes. 

Was  this,  then,  the  end  of  the  expedition  ? 
Was  this  the  final  scene  of  triumph  and  joyful 


HOME  AGAIN.  2T,l 

return  ?  After  the  hardships  which  the  search- 
ers had  endured  and  the  perils  which  they  had 
passed  through ;  when  their  object  was  at- 
tained, and  all  difficulties  were  supposed  to 
have  been  safely  surmounted  ;  when  their 
home-coming  was  believed  to  be  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time,  was  it  possible  that  Ben  Halstead, 
that  bright  and  brave  boy,  the  idol  of  his  par- 
ents and  admired  by  all  who  knew  him,  had 
been  snatched  away  from  them  so  suddenly 
and  cruelly,  carrying  with  him  into  his  watery 
grave  the  jewel  for  which  he  had  ventured 
into  the  wilderness  ? 

It  was  no  wonder  that  Louis  Hameau  wept 
like  a  broken-hearted  man. 

He  was  aroused  by  a  joyful  cry  from  Harry. 

Looking  up  hastily,  he  saw  the  lad  speeding 
toward  an  air-hole  a  little  way  downstream, 
through  which  was  thrust  Ben  Halstead's  head, 
with  his  cap  still  on. 

Though  Harry  had  so  much  the  start  of  him, 
Louis  reached  the  spot  about  as  soon  as  the 


232  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

lad  did,  and  together  they  pulled  out  Ben, 
chilled  to  the  bone  and  speechless,  and  car- 
ried him  ashore. 

There  he  was  quickly  stripped,  and  Louis 
laid  him  on  a  bunch  of  hay  and  rubbed  him 
briskly  with  wisps  of  the  same,  while  one  of 
the  teamsters  applied  rum  externally  and  inter- 
nally, and  Harry  hunted  up  some  dry  clothing 
for  his  cousin. 

Soon  the  blood  was  coursing  freely  through 
the  lad's  veins  again,  and  he  was  dressed  and 
compelled  to  run  about  as  well  as  he  could, 
until  he  was  quite  warm  and  thoroughly  weary. 

He  said  that  he  had  been  carried  under  the 
ice  the  instant  he  dropped  into  the  water. 
Realizing  his  peril,  he  held  his  breath  as  long 
as  he  could,  but  lost  his  senses  until  he  came 
up  at  the  air-hole. 

Then  his  breath  came  back  to  him,  but  he 
found  himself  unable  to  speak,  and  he  might 
have  been  carried  under  again  if  his  chin  had 
not  caught  on  the  ice. 


HOME  AGAIN.  2,-, 

This  was  such  a  wonderful  and  providential 
escape  from  death  that  the  faithful  guide  again 
shed  tears  ;  but  this  time  they  were  tears  of  joy. 

With  considerable  difficulty  the  team  was 
got  out  of  the  river,  and  after  a  rest  the  party 
went  on,  reaching  Oldtown  without  any  further 
accident  or  adventure  worthy  of  note. 

Leaving  their  property  to  be  forwarded, 
Louis  and  the  lads  hastened  on  to  Bangor, 
and  put  in  an  appearance  at  Hiram  Hal- 
stead's  house  just  as  the  family  were  sitting 
down  to  dinner. 

Their  welcome  was  more  than  a  joyful  one, 
and  they  were  obliged  to  ask  for  time  to 
answer  the  questions  that  were  showered 
upon  them  on  all  sides. 

"  We  are  glad  enough  to  have  you  home,  and 
to  see  you  safe  and  sound,"  said  Mr.  Halstead. 
"  I  suppose  you  soon  got  your  fill  of  a  winter 
in  the  woods." 

"  We  were  afraid  that  you  might  be  worried 
about  us,"  answered  Ben,  "  and  we  thought  it 


234  THE  SEARCH  FOR    THE  STAR. 

was  not  worth  while  to  spend  a  winter  up  there 
when  there  was  nothing  to  gain  by  it." 

"  Of  course,  there  was  nothing  to  gain  by  it. 
You  can't  have  seen  or  heard  anything  of  Bap- 
tiste  or  the  Star  ;  but  I  hope  you  have  had  a 
good  time." 

"  It  will  take  time,  sir,  to  tell  you  what  we 
have  seen  and  heard  ;  but  I  can  say  now  that 
we  have  brought  home  something  that  may 
pass  for  an  imitation  of  the  Star." 

"  An  imitation  of  the  Star  ?  Up  there  in  the 
woods  ?  That  is  impossible.  What  do  you 
mean  ?" 

"  Well,  sir,  if  mother  will  do  a  little  ripping 
in  the  inside  of  my  jacket  here,  she  will  find 
the  thing  I  speak  of." 

Hastily  and  nervously  Mrs.  Halstead  ripped 
open  the  pocket  that  Ben  pointed  out  to  her, 
brought  out  and  opened  the  ebony  box,  and 
there,  as  bright  and  beautiful  as  ever,  shone 
the  Star. 


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FAIRY  LEGENDS  OF  THE  FRENCH  PROVINCES, 

Translated  by  Mrs.    M.  CAREY,  with   Introductory  Note 
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"  Young  people  especially  will  find  it  replete  with  entertaining  pictures  of  authors 
known  and  loved  by  all  the  firesides  of  the  land." — N  Y.  Observer. 

"  Filled  with  details  which  to  the  bulk  of  readers  will  be  new."  —  Albany  Press. 


THOMAS  Y.    CROWELL   &   CO. 

13   ASTOR    P1  *CE,    NEW  YORK. 


''Mrs.  Farmer's  style  is  crisp  and  entertaining,  and  she  writes  like  a 
true,  hero-worshipper,  giving  her  story  a  color  of  enthusiasm  and 
romance  it  would  not  otherwise  possess.  Such  a  book  for  young 
people  is  worth  a  score  of '  blood  and  thunder '  fictions  ;  it  is  a  volume 
worthy  a  place  in  the  library  of  every  boy  and  girl." 

—  WASHINGTON  POST. 

THE  BOYS'  BOOK  OF  FAMOUS  RULERS. 

BY  LYDIA   HOYT   FARMER. 

LIVES   OP   AGAMEMNON,    JULIUS    C^SAR,    CHARLEMAGNE,   FRED- 
ERICK THE  GREAT,  RICHARD  CCEUR  DE  LION,  ROBERT  BRUCE, 
NAPOLEON,  AND   OTHER   HEROES   OF   HISTORIC   FAME. 


jfullg  Illustrated  faritfj  Portraits  anto  Numerous  CBngrabmgs. 

12mo.    Price,  $1.50. 


"No  better  book  of  its  kind  could  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
children."  —  Chicago  Current. 

"The  contents  are  most  attractive.  The  narrative  style  of  the 
author  is  concise  and  interesting,  and  the  reader  will  be  sure  to 
learn  a  great  deal  of  history  by  a  perusal  of  these  delightful  pages." 

—  Albany  Press. 

"  The  handsomest  and  best  books  of  the  day  seem  to  be  those 
made  for  young  people.  '  Boys'  Book  of  1'amous  Rulers '  is  among 
them."  —  Picayune,  New  Orleans. 

"  Written  in  a  way  to  very  greatly  interest  those  for  whom  it  is 
intended."  —  Chicago  Standard. 

"  A  capital  book  for  youth.  Each  subject  has  a  portrait  and 
illustrations  of  eventful  scenes."  —  Boston  Globe. 

"  Written  in  a  way  to  instruct,  as  well  as  interest,  the  boys." 

—  Hartford  Times. 

"  One  of  the  best  publications  of  the  kind  that  we  have  seen." 

—  Ohio  State  Journal. 


THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  AND  COMPANY, 

13  As  tor  Place,  New  York. 


Six  BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE 

By  J    A    K 

12mo.      Illustrated.     $1.25  per  Vol. 

BIRCHWOOD. 

"A  hearty,  honest  boys'  book,  which  young  people  are  sure  to  enjoy." — A'.  Y. 
Mail  and  Express. 

"An  eminently  wholesome  and  good  book."  —  Z tori's  Herald. 

"  An  excellent  story  for  boys,  inculcating  the  valuable  truth  that  whether  a  boy  be 
rich  or  poor  he  should  learn  to  work.  There  is  also  a  good  temperance  lesson  taught ; 
and  it  is  all  told  in  a  simple  way,  that  ought  to  interest  young  readers." — Literary  World. 

RIVERSIDE   MUSEUM. 

"Thoroughly  healthy  in  tone." — Nation. 

"  A  very  charming  story  for  young  folks."  —  Inter-Ocean. 

"  In  a  pleasant,  easy  style,  the  writer  shows  how  children  aiming  at  improvement 
can  find  around  a  village  the  objects  in  Nature  which  develop  thought  and  knowl- 
edge." —  Christian  Intelligencer. 

THE    FITCH   CLUB. 

"A  very  interesting  and  very  profitable  story."  —  Hartford  Post. 

"  The  author  has  a  happy  way  of  telling  a  story  in  just  the  style  calculated  to  interest 
boys."  —  Christian  Union. 

"A  pure  and  interesting  story  for  the  boys  and  girls.  Ways  and  means  of  doing 
many  useful  things  are  so  naturally  and  pleasantly  told  that  the  information  does  not 
appear  like  teaching,  but  like  story-telling."  —  Kansas  City  Times. 

PROFESSOR  JOHNNY. 

"An  admirable  book  fo»  teaching  boys  the  science  of  common  things."  —  Home 
Journal. 

"Combines  scientific  information,  wise  moral  instruction,  and  capital  entertainment 
in  good  proportions."  —  The  Congregationalist. 

"  It  is  characterized  by  that  uncommon  thing  —  common  sense. ' '  —  Christian  Index. 

WHO  SAVED  THE  SHIP. 

"  Good  wholesome  reading."  — Milwaukee  Sentinel.  \ 

"One  of  the  brightest  books  of  the  season."  —  Ohio  State  Journal, 
"Admirable  in  tone  and  full  of  interest."  —  Boston  Traveller. 

THE  GIANT  DWARF. 

"Young  and  old  will  read  the  story  with  pleasure."  —  Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

"The  author  of  '  Birchwood,'  '  Prof.  Johnny,'  and  other  tales,  will  always  be  sure 
of  a  welcome  among  young  people,  and  '  The  Giant  Dwarf '  will  be  found  to  rank 
among  his  most  fascinating  work."  —  Boston  Traveller. 


THOMAS  Y.    CROWELL   &   CO. 

13  ASTOR  PLACE,  NEW  YORK. 


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